Unrequited - Not Unnoticed
by Salt-the-Catgirl
Summary: My saddest TohrUno fic just got sadder as we see the story from Tohru-Chan's point of view. Unaware of Natsuno's feelings for him, Torhu sees Natsuno as his best friend, and watches over him as if he were another younger sibling.
1. Chapter 1

_**Shiki: Unrequited - Not Unnoticed**_

* * *

 _ **Synopsys & Author's Note:**_ The other side of my saddest TohruNo fic ever, we watch the entire first thirteen episodes play out in Tohru's point of view. I was hesitant to do this, as readers would be rereading all of the scenes that play out with Natsuno, but I THINK I can find room for some original content with Tohru himself. So, I will appologize now for the "regurgitated" (for lack of better words) content from the original Unrequited. I had one coment on Unrequitted where I was asked if I was going to continue the story. While I hadn't intended on it, I replied that I would if there was enough call for it, I already know what I'd call it if I did, but I would have to blend both POVs into one story if I were to do it, and my content would be pulled more from the Anime than the Manga, as I have very few issues of the Manga past Natsuno's death, yet. I tried to make each chapter of this story coincide with the events of each of the eight chapters in the original Unrequited.

 _Tohru's thoughts are in italics (as it's from his point of view, we have no way of knowing what anyone else is thinking, just how he interpenetrates the looks on their faces)_

 _ **"Whispers are in bold italics with quotation marks."**_

Narrative is normal text

"Speech is normal text with quotation marks."

 **The flashbacks and imagination are in bold.**

As always, any and all comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed.

* * *

I'm outside, watering the lawn, as Mother asked. The summer heat is blaring, but at least it's late afternoon, and the occasional backspray of mist from the hose is cool and refreshing. I hear something on the road and look up. Oh, it's the new kid, who's parents run the atelier... And he's alone... Again. I frown when I see that, even though I'm not surprised. It's almost been two months since his family moved to Sotoba, but I still don't think he's made any friends.

I've seen him around school, he's quiet and sticks to himself, like he's TRYING to avoid people. Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure anyone even knows his real name? The only person I ever really see around him is Megumi-Chan, but... He always seems like he's ignoring her, like he's not interested in spending his time with her either.

People talk about him all the time. I really feel bad for him. Sotoba is small, so people tend to gossip. Rumor has it his parents aren't actually married and are atheist. To a lot of the older citizens, that's two marks against him already. He keeps to himself, his nose in his books and gives short replies when people ask him questions, so classmates, while friendly to his face, talk about him behind his back as well.

 _ **"Rude."**_

 _ **"Unsocial."**_

 _ **"Fowl tempered."**_

 _ **"Cold."**_

 _ **"Odd."**_

 _ **"Stuck up."**_

I've heard them all whispered about him. It only makes me feel sorrier for him. Maybe he's just shy or socially awkward, and doesn't know how to deal with people. Maybe they don't socialize the same way in the city? Maybe he has a deeper reason for not trying to make friends than they're thinking. Still... He looks like he's lonelier than he's letting on. He sticks out in this place like a sore thumb, whether he's trying to or not, and he always seems like he doesn't have a friend in the world. That's no way to go through life. EVERYBODY should have at least one friend.

As I look again, I realize he's not just walking, he's pushing a bike, a fairly newer looking one too. It doesn't take me long to access the situation. "Hey there, flat tire?" I call out. I think he cringed a little. "I can help you fix it," I offer.

He looks up at me and looks surprised that I even bothered to notice him. "No thanks, I'm fine," he refuses and tries to walk away.

I frown for a second. _Oh, no! I'm not letting you get away that easily!_ I walk over and put my hand on the bike. I flash him one of my more charming smiles. With the exception of Megumi-Chan, my smiles have always been able to win over anybody. "It'll only take a minute," I assure him. He tosses me a _**"What the Hell?"**_ kind of look. I blink at the look on his face and frown. "Aw, come on! Don't be like that. It's called being neighborly."

He sighs and looks up at me. We make brief eye contact. His eyes are the same shade of indigo as his hair, they're unusual, and rather pretty. They're nowhere near as cold as expected after all the rumors. Distant? Yes. Lonely? Sure. Cold? No. Shy? ...Maybe...? But there's a whole sea of intelligence behind them. Just as I thought, he's simply misunderstood. I notice a slight blush sweep his face as he looks away. "Fine, I'll let you fix it, if it means that much to you," he agrees, "But promise me you won't ask any stupid, annoying questions? I get enough of that from my classmates. I'm not looking to make friends."

 _Not looking to make friends?_ "Eh? Why not?" I ask, leading him to the side of the house, "Where's the fun in life without making new friends?"

"I intend to leave and move back to the city as soon as I get the chance," he says.

I frown as I fill a bucket with water from the hose. "That's too bad, a place like this isn't so bad once you get use to it." I start to thread the tire through the water, looking for the puncture. My nameless Kohai watches on quietly. "You might want to get your parents to get you a repair kit from the store," I suggest momentarily, "These roads can be pretty dangerous for bikes sometimes."

"Yeah, ok," he replies quickly.

I blink. _Ok, he's not much for words._ I'll have to try another approach. "So, I've seen you around on campus, but haven't really had the chance to talk with you, yet. This is the kind of place where everybody knows everybody. Your parents run the new atelier, right?"

He sighs. "Yeah, Dad's a carpenter."

 _Still keeping to short answers, huh?_ "So, my name's Mutou Tohru, by the way. What's your name?"

"Yuuki, or Koide, either works, either's fine," he answers.

I hold back a frustrated sigh. "Oh, right, I'd heard about that. Your parents aren't married, are they?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Yeah, something like that," he scoffs.

"Good for them," I say.

He flinches, and turns to look at me. My reply obviously took him off guard. I guess he thought I was just like all the other villagers, prone to gossiping and judging based on people's lifestyle, rather than how they behave toward others. "Huh?" he asks.

I look up and smile at him. Is that another blush I see trying to creep across his face? Cute. "It's not easy to do something out of the ordinary, when you know others are going to judge you for it." The water begins to bubble around the tire. "Ah! Here's your leak!" I dry off the tire and begin patching it. What does it matter if they're not married? If they didn't love each other, they wouldn't be living together, and if they didn't care about him I'm sure he'd look much more unkempt and less healthy than he does. It's cruel to judge them, or him based solely on that. Sometimes the people in this village can be so closed minded and shallow. "But, even so, you're still a happy family together, right?" I add with a smile.

"Right," he says with a nod, and I think I see the faint hint of a smile on his face.

I smile at him and once more his face flushes a light shade of pink. "So then, Yuuki or Koide? But..." I blink at him for a second. "That's just your last name, right?" He tries to avoid eye contact and nods. Is he really so shy that just talking with me is making him nervous? "That can get a little confusing. What's your first name?" I probe. "I can't exactly come to school calling you 'Flat Tire Kohai' tomorrow, you know," I tease as I finish putting the tire back on the bike.

I blink as he snatches his bike away from me. "Forget it!" he growls, "Just call me Yuuki like everyone else. I told you I'm not interested in friends!"

I heave a defeated sigh as he starts to walk away. "Fine, Yuuki it is," I cave in, "I suppose it's pointless to invite you back to visit sometime?"

"Why would I?" he asks harshly. He pauses and a moment of silence passes between us. It was probably only a couple of seconds, but as I don't do well with absolute silence, it felt like an eternity. The silence is broken by a sigh. "Thanks for helping me, by the way."

I smile from ear to ear. Maybe he realized how that had sounded? "You're welcome," I answer happily. He hops on his bike and rides off. I wave, but he never looks back to see me. He'd probably call me an idiot or something, but I don't stop waiving until he passes out of sight over the next hill. He probably doesn't even hear me as I call after him, "Good bye, and be careful heading home!" It'll be dark by the time he gets home. I lower my hand, once he's out of view. "He'll be back," I chuckle out loud to myself.

"Tohru-Chan?" Mother calls out the door, "Are you done yet, dear?"

I blink and turn my attention gaze back to the lawn. It looks wet enough to me. I look back to my mother. "Yes, ma'am," I answer.

Mom smiles. "Come inside and wash up, then," she says, "Dinner's almost ready."

"Yes ma'am," I reply happily, as I go inside.

"Ne, Tohru-Niisan?" Aoi-Chan, my younger sister calls as I'm starting up the stairs, "Was that the new kid from the city I saw you talking with?"

"Yeah, why? You know him, Sis?" I ask.

"I... well..." she starts to stammer.

I smile. The older sibling in me can't help but tease her. "You don't have a crush on him or somethin', do you? Maybe I should have invited him inside?"

My sister turns an adorable shade of pink, balling her hands into fists. "It's not like that!" she denies. She clicks her tongue and turns away. "Actually, he's one of Tamotsu's classmates. I just know him from passing. He looks rather cool, I guess," she admits, "But he keeps to himself. I was just surprised to see him talking to someone."

I laugh and reach down, ruffling a hand through her hair. "Calm down, Sis, I'm only teasing," I assure her. "I know Masao's the only guy for you," again I'm teasing. Though, I admit this time it may be a bit cruel of me to use Masao, though I honestly can't think of any other guys I've seen her talk to.

Again she blushes. "MASAO!?" she exclaims. She frowns and slaps me. I guess I deserved that. "AS IF! Besides, he likes Shimizu-Chan." I smile at her and rub my stinging cheek.

"Ow, not so rough, Aoi-Chan, you know I'm sensitive to pain," I whimper.

"Oh, I didn't hit you that hard," she scoffs. "Grow up, Niisan!" With that, she storms off in a huff.

"You should have seen that coming," Tamotsu-Chan, our brother, says passively.

"Yeah," I nod, still holding my cheek, "I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment.

* * *

I was beginning to think he hated me. I wave and say hello every time we pass in the hall now. He acts like he's trying to remain indifferent, but I can always see a faint smile when I do so. It's been two weeks since I helped him with his tire. Today, he finally returned my greeting with a simple 'Yo.' I smiled, like an idiot, I know I did. But, it's a start in the right direction.

Shimizu Megumi-Chan follows him everywhere. She wasn't paying attention to where he was walking and almost followed him into the Men's room. It's adorable how her face swept up as pink as her hair when she realized what she'd almost done. She frowns every time she sees me. When he finally responded to me today, I noticed the frown became even worse. It was as if she were glaring daggers in my direction, wishing looks could kill. I honestly don't understand why she doesn't like me. I don't treat her any different from anyone else. No special attention, no mean spirited gossip, none of that. I've done nothing to her, but be friendly, and she refuses to return the favor. It seems like her interest in Yuuki-Kun has only made her disdain for me seem worse. I understand she's unhappy in this village, it's not a bad place, but it can be boring and inconvenient at times, and the gossiping doesn't help. But, none of that's my fault.

Lately, she's become so obsessed with Yuuki-Kun that she's even begun to ignore her childhood friend Tanaka Kaori-Chan. They've been best friends their whole lives, Kaori-Chan's always seen Megumi-Chan as an older sister. It's sad to see her pushed to the wayside like this. I remember hearing Megumi-Chan once say that she wanted to become a modle. Well, that's not going to be easy living out here in Sotoba, but she's certainly pretty enough for it. I wish her luck in that endeavor.

"Oi, Tohru-Chan?" I hear a voice call from behind me. I turn to find Murasako Masao approaching. Yet another pitiful soul before me. Aside from myself and the twins; Aoi and Tamotsu, I honestly don't know that he has any other friends either. Not for lack of trying, but the poor guy just doesn't get how things work sometimes. He never really had a good relationship with his father, I'm not sure he even knew his mother. The relationship with his brother turned for the worse after his brother got married, and became even more strained after his niece and nephew were born. He's tried to talk to Megumi a few times, but always gets the cold shoulder from her.

I smile and wave. "Masao, what's up?" I greet him cheerfully. Something about that look in his dark eyes is really unsettling. I don't want to be mean, but his physical description fits the stereotypical 'creepy kid'. It's almost as if he's just as infatuated with me as he is with Megumi-Chan.

"I was wondering if I could come over this afternoon and get you to help me with my homework?" Masao asks. Masao isn't exactly at the top of his class. I'm not quite there myself, to be honest, but I'm close.

"I dunno, Masao," I say rubbing the back of my head. "I have to make my way to the DMV this afternoon," I excuse myself. It's not a lie, though, I'm eighteen and ready to start learning how to drive. I have a written test to take today so I can get my permit. "And when I'm done with that, Mom asked me to run a few errands for her. It may be really late when I get home."

"Oh, I see," Masao says with a disappointed sigh.

"But maybe you can walk home with Aoi-Chan or Tamo-Chan and get them to help you?" I suggest.

"You think so?" he asks. I smile and nod.

"That sounds great, I'll go and ask them if-" His eyes turn to the pink haired girl still standing, blushing outside the Men's Room and he's thrown completely off track. "Is that Megumi-Chan?" he asks.

"Yep," I nod.

"Why is she?" he points toward her.

I laugh and spare him the knowledge that she was following Yuuki-Kun. "She was daydreaming about becoming a model again," I tell him with a chuckle, "She wasn't paying attention and almost walked into the wrong restroom."

Masao smiles and lets out a quiet chuckle. "That's so cute," he muses, his body goes as limp as his long black hair as he stares at her, almost vacantly. Yep, he's definitely got it bad for her. "Just like Megumi-Chan," he says fondly. _Aaand, now it's gotten a bit creepy._ He stands with his hands in his pockets, a goofy grin on his face, his black hair framing the edges of his pale-skinned face, his back slightly curved in a slouch. _Ugh..._ I swear, if he stares at her with that look on his face much longer, he's likely to start drooling. The bell rings to head to the next class, and I'm saved from the suddenly awkward situation. I excuse myself and head to the classroom. I don't want to get in trouble for being late again.

After class, I head to the DMV. I'm on foot for now, but hopefully by this time next year, I'll have my own set of wheels. Thankfully, the DMV isn't as crowded as I'd expected when I reach it. It's still busier than preferred, but at least it won't be completely dark outside when I leave. I wait in line, glad for the fact that they have chairs for us to sit in. This is boring. I can't stand being alone. I mean, sure there's people, but I'm not exactly among friends. I could strike up a conversation with any of them to relieve the tension, I suppose.

I mean, when you've got the reputation of 'Social Butterfly', and just can't bare the silence, it's easy to do. But, this is the freakin' DMV, it's not like there's much to talk about here. _**"Hey, nice weather we're having, glad that bad rainstorm a couple months back didn't wash away any of the stop signs?"**_ _LAME!_ I heave a sigh and stare out the window, nervously tapping my finger on my pant leg.

I blink as the door swings open. A guy I don't recognize walks in and it draws my attention. He has long wavy blue hair pulled into a ponytail. He's wearing a beige button up and a smock, both of which covered in sawdust. The distinct scent of Oak follows him into the room. It's rather nice actually.

 _ **"He even has sawdust flakes in his hair."**_

 _ **"He could have at least cleaned up before coming into town like that."**_

Some of the women in the back of the room are giggling and whispering already. I frown in their direction, making sure they know someone's heard them and disapproves. They hush, but scowl at me, like they think it's none of my business. _Well, it's not exactly any of yours either, now is it?_

The man seems to ignore them. He approaches the desk and takes a number. I look out the window again, quietly watching in my peripheral as he turns and looks for a seat. He approaches me. "E-Excuse me, young man," he addresses me, forcing me to turn my attention back to him. "Is this seat taken?" he asks.

I blink at him for a second, then look down at the chair next to me, then smile back up at him. "No sir, not at all," I say, "Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you," he says with a smile. He settles into the chair next to me. "So, how long have you been waiting?" he asks.

"I dunno," I answer honestly, "What time is it?"

"Almost five," he answers.

 _Really? I've been here that long!?_ "I left school around two thirty. So, I guess I've been here for about an hour and a half." _Jeez, no wonder I'm so twitchy right now. That's way too long without some form of positive human interaction or external stimuli._ I just hope I'm not entirely drained by the time they call me, or I might have to retake the test all over again later.

"School? You're still in high school?" he asks.

I smile and nod. Maybe talking with this guy will give me the energy boost I need. "Yes, sir."

"The one in Mizobe?" he asks, again I nod. He smiles, "I guess you know my son, then?"

"Perhaps, what's his name?" I reply.

"Natsuno," he answers.

I shake my head. "That doesn't ring a bel-!" I pause and blink as realization hits me. The saw dust, the subtle smell of pine and cedar, and that strong scent of oak. Surprisingly, no fir, considering how this place is crawling with fur trees. This is the guy who runs the atelier. "Wait? His last name wouldn't happen to be Yuuki, would it?" I ask.

He smiles and nods. "That's right."

"Yeah, I know him," I say, "Er, well, I know who he is. He tends to keep to himself, but I helped him with his bike tire two weeks back."

"Oh, that was you?" Yuuki-San says. "So, you're Mutou-Senpai?" he chuckles. _Senpai? Really?_ I blush slightly. Nobody calls me Senpai.

"Tohru's fine," I answer.

"Thanks for helping him out that day," Yuuki-San says, "Natsuno can be rough around the edges, but he's a good boy. His mother and I were worried when he came home late, but he told us about the flat tire, and how you'd helped him. It gave us hope that maybe he'll find a friend out here and actually stop brooding about having moved so much."

"I can imagine it must be difficult for him," I say, "to be pulled away from all of his friends and all the comforts and conveniences of the city, just to be landed out here in the middle of nothing but mountains and fir trees. But, give him some time to give the place a chance."

Yuuki-San smiles. "Don't get me wrong. We understand it's difficult for him. We're still adjusting to the way things are around here, ourselves. But, Natsuno only had a small number of friends back in the city, and he never actually spent time with them outside of school. He just doesn't feel like he fits in here. If anything, it'd be nice for him to make at least ONE friend here."

I give Yuuki-San a reassuring smile. Don't worry, I'm determined to do my best on making that a reality. I he's lonely, but he keeps that closeted, and I can sense it every time he comes into my line of vision. I glance back over my shoulder, disapprovingly at the still gossiping women in the back. Not like the people around here are helping that fact, very much! I turn back to Yuuki-San. "So, uh, Yuuki-San? What brings you here today? Was it just time to renew your license?"

"No," he replies with a chuckle. "It's been nearly two months since we've moved into our house here in Sotoba, but my license still has our old address back in the city. I've not really had to use it for identification a whole lot, but I've noticed a few raised eyebrows on the rare occasions where I have. I had to come into town to pick up a few supplies I need for my work, and figured I may as well take the opportunity to get it changed."

I smile at Yuuki-San and nod in understanding. Not only am I feeling more energized by this conversation, but my resolve to become friends with Yuuki-Kun... No, Natsuno is even stronger. I clench my fist, but before I can give Yuuki-San any words of assurance, the lady behind the desk FINALLY calls my number. I excuse myself and fumble my way to the desk, my legs having temporarily fallen asleep from sitting down so long.

No more than a week later, I'm sitting in the living room at home. The smell of dinner is wafting in from the kitchen. Whatever Mom's cooking smells amazing. Aoi-Chan and Tamo-Chan are both upstairs, doing whatever it is they do when they lock themselves in their rooms. Dad has something on the TV for noise, but neither of us are really paying attention to it, as he's reading the day's paper. I sort of made off with the comics and games section. I'm currently wracking my brain over a Cross Word puzzle.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. Dad and I both look up, then at each other. Neither of us were expecting company, and as far as we knew, neither were Aoi-Chan or Tamotsu-Chan. Mom pokes her head out of the kitchen. "Tohru, Darling, would you see who that is, please?"

"Sure thing, Mom," I say, getting up from my chair and going to the door. I don't bother to check to see who it is before opening the door. When I open, I see the back of someone's head, puffy indigo blue hair. I smile, knowing in an instant who it is. He turns and looks at me, a bit surprised. Maybe he thought nobody was going to answer? I notice his bike. "Another flat? What you don't know how to use a repair kit?" I tease.

He looks away. I don't know why, but I find it cute when he blushes, but he'd probably deny it if anyone ever pointed out that he was. "Shut up!" he growls. "It's just I haven't had the chance to buy one yet. But... If it wouldn't be too much trouble. I... I mean..." He reaches into his pockets. "If you don't mind helping me fix it again, I can pay you for the trouble this time."

I shake my head in protest and smile. "Perish the thought!" I insist, grabbing the bike. "It's no problem at all. Come on, follow me." He gives a quiet nod and follows me around to the side of the house. I use the same bucket as before and fill it with soap and water, getting down the repair kit. He leans against a wall and watches me. I wish he'd found some reason other than a flat tire to come back, but I'm glad he did. I don't bother him with questions about the city. He said he gets that kind of stuff from classmates all the time. I can imagine that getting tiresome and boring to keep answering them, and as he already wants to go back to the city, I'm sure it makes him a bit homesick. The leak is much quicker to find this time. "You know," I say as I start to patch the tire, "It's getting late. How'd you like to stay for dinner?"

"I wouldn't like to impose."

"No, you wouldn't be," I assure him, "You wanted to pay me back for helping you out, right?" He gives a quiet nod and I smile. "Then just stay for dinner, and hang out for a bit." I smile as I put the finishing touch on the patch. "There we go, all fixed! By the way, I did some digging around." I chuckle and turn to face him. "Your name? I asked your parents." I smile and point my finger at him, snapping my fingers in the process, and winking. "Natsuno!" My smile widens as he stares at me, taken aback. "Are you sure you don't wanna' come in for dinner?" His face flushes pink, and we make eye contact.

"Alright," he agrees, with a nod, following me inside, "But, I'll have to call my parents and let them know."

"Sure, no problem," I nod. "Oi, Mom?" I peek into the kitchen, "I hope you don't mind, we're having company for dinner."

"How many?" she asks.

"Just one," I say, holding up a finger, "He's the new kid in Tamo-Chan's class."

"The one who's parents run the atelier?" Mom asks.

I nod. I pick up on movement behind me and reach back, catching Natsuno's wrist. Thanks to those rumors that float around about his parents due to their marriage status, or lack thereof, the moment my mother mentioned them, he was ready to bolt. Poor guy. I can't say I blame him. If people talked abot MY mother like that, I wouldn't stick around when someone brought them into a conversation, either.

"Yeah," I say, giving him a gentle tug, and pulling him into the doorway next to me, so she can see him. "His bike had a flat tire, and the atelier is pretty far out there," I explain, "It might be late before he makes it home."

Mom looks him over and smiles at him. "Very well, Yuuki-Kun, am I right?" she greets him.

He smiles and nods. "Y-Yes ma'am." He bows. "Sorry to intrude."

Mom giggles. "Not at all, dear. Any friend of Tohru's is always welcome here," she assured him, "Would you like to call your parents to let them know you're alright?"

"I-If that wouldn't be too much trouble?" he answers with a nod. Mom grants permission with a simple nod in return. He looks so stunned by our simple country style hospitality.

I lead him to the phone and let him dial his folks. While he's waiting, I run upstairs, using the excuse to wash up after handling the bike tire. When I come back down, Mom's on the phone, I'm assuming with Natsuno's mother, Koide-San. She's fawning over how polite Natsuno's been in just the short time he's been here. I watch him and smile. He seems almost embarrassed, and as Mother lays on the compliments, he seems to silently resign himself to the idea that he's going to have to socialize with us tonight.

No one really questions his presence at the table as we sit down for the meal. Dad had heard the exchange when I asked Mom if it was alright. Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu-Chan are use to Masao bursting in at all different random times, and then joining us for dinner if he just happens to arrive when we're sitting down. Mom and Dad have also had friends and coworkers show up unexpectedly right around dinner for one reason or another. Dad's the director at Ozaki Clinic, he knows the effects hunger can have on a person's body. It's sort of customary for us not to let someone leave hungry. Mom and Dad even taught the twins and me that it's rude to eat in front of company without offering.

Tamotsu-Chan looks at Natsuno curiously. He doesn't mean any offense as he asks it, but, he brings it up anyway. "You're always so quiet in class, I thought you just wanted to be left alnone. I never realized you were friends with Tohru-Niisan."

"Friends?" Natsuno glances towards me. He's trying his best not to blush. "Maybe," he mutters. _Well, that's a start._ "Mutou-Senpai helped me with my bike, then asked me to stay for dinner is all."

I nearly choke on the piece of Teriyaki beef I just bit into. "Senpai!?" I exclaim. Why does that title make me want to blush? _No, something so impersonal simply WON'T do!_ I elbow him in the side. "Don't be so stiff and formal, Natsuno," I scold, "We're friends, call me Tohru-Chan." _Please._

"Natsuno?" the rest of the family repeats.

"So that's your first name?" Aoi-Chan exclaims, a blush sweeping her face. _Ha! Total crush! I knew it!_

He shifts uncomfortably and sighs. "I prefer not to be called by that name. Yuuki's fine."

He turns his eyes to the floor. "I have my reasons," he protests.

Dad quickly decides to change the conversation, by asking about our day. We carry on as we would any other day, even with Natsuno sitting right there. The twins and I bicker and poke fun at one another, Mom and Dad setting us straight before anything gets out of hand, every time. All of it's in good nature, though. None of us actually ever try to get mean spirited when teasing one another. Of course, I refuse to let Natsuno run off immediately after the meal. "It's rude to eat and run unless there's an emergency!" I insist, grabbing hold of his wrist and dragging him up the stairs to my room.

I scan the room for a moment, before inviting him in. Everything that needs to be hidden is well out of sight, so I turn and invite him into the room with a smile. I try to convince him to play a two player video game with me, but he refuses. I start to offer other suggestions, like board games, or a game of Hondafuda or something. He turns them all down. So, we just sit and talk. I know he doesn't like questions, but I'm uncomfortable with prolonged silence when other people are in the room. Give me idle chit-chat or misguided, misinformed gossip over complete silence. I don't pay any heed to it. I make up my mind about people by what I learn spending time with them, NOT by what I randomly hear on the street corner by someone who never bothered to look into the situation.

It takes some time to get him to open up. Once I get him talking, though, he seems a bit more comfortable. I guess he just does better with one-on-one encounters than he does large groups. It seems kind of odd for a city kid to be such an introvert, being around so many people on a daily basis. But then, maybe I'm looking at the psychology of it wrong? Sotoba's residents are in the triple digits, but everyone knows everyone. Even if we don't know them close and personally, we know of them by way of talking with those who do. Even so, we're spread out over a good number of acres, the whole area shaped like a triangle surrounded by fir trees and mountains. Maybe the seclusion makes us more apt to talk and whisper, then become extremely social around others. Meanwhile, the city is huge and crowded and people are said to be more disconnected. Maybe it is more likely for a person to become reclusive growing up in the midst of something like that?

We talk for a little while. I ask his hobbies. "Books." Somehow, I don't find that surprising. His favorite music. "Doesn't matter, so long as it suits my mood." His favorite movies. He simply shrugs. Video games. He dodges the question by complaining that I'm asking too many. "We're not playing Fifty Questions here, remember?"

I smile. "Alright, enough about you, then. Anything you want to ask me?"

"Yeah," he smirks, "Are you always this annoyingly cheerful?" I can't tell if he's teasing or being serious. Like his father said, he's rough around the edges. So, I simply laugh him off.

He stays around for a bit more. I notice he's trying to act as though he's bored, annoyed, and simply wants to leave, but his eyes, which he keeps adverting, give away the fact that he's actually enjoying the interaction as much as I am. Maybe even a little more? Finally, he decides it's time to head home. I walk downstairs with him. Before he leaves, he thanks Mom and Dad for the meal, and in return, they invite him back to visit anytime he wishes. I walk outside with him and say goodbye, reiterating my parents' invitation to come visit. I watch as he rides off on his bike, and keep my eyes on him until he's out of sight.


	2. Chapter 2

That was yesterday, today, I'm walking in the hall, and I see him. I smile and start to go over and say hello, when Megumi-Chan slips up next to him.

"Hiiii, Yuuki-Kuuun," Megumi-Chan greets him. Instead of speaking to her, he simply starts to walk away. She pouts and stomps her foot when she realizes he's ignoring her now.

"Stop following me," he grumbles as she gives chase.

She doesn't pay any mind, as usual. "Ne, Yuuki-Kun, look!" She holds up her arm to show off some sort of gold charm bracelett. "I just got this in the mail yesterday, I ordered it out of a magazine."

"That's nice," he comments, sounding rather uninterested as he reaches into his locker.

She opens her mouth to speak again. _Ok, I can't stand watching this._ He's not interested, and yet she insist on playing tag along. "Oiii, Natsuuunooo...!" I call, acting as if I've only just now seen him. They both look up as I rush past her. I pounce and hug him. Taken by surprise, he staggers a bit. "There's my cute little Kohai!" I tease.

"Gh..." he quickly regains his balance. "Get off, and don't call me that!" We already hear the other students whispering behind us.

 _ **"Natsuno?"**_

 _ **"Is that Yuuki-Kun's name?"**_

 _ **"Isn't that Tohru?"**_

 _ **"Since when are those two friends?"**_

Megumi-Chan frowns and storms off. "HEY!" he untangles himself from my arms. "I said get off!"

"Sorry..." I look past him, toward the pink haired girl storming away from us. "Did I interrupt you and your girlfriend?"

"She's NOT my girlfriend!" he growls, turning away.

"Oh, just friends?"

"No."

"But...? She's always following you and talking to you?"

"I've asked her not to."

"I see. Well, in that case I just pulled you out of an unwanted conversation, didn't I?" I says with a sly smile.

"Yeah, I guess so."

My smile gets bigger. "Hey, you want to hang out after school today? I wanna' show you around. Not just the best places in town, but some of the best quiet places." There are only a few rare places I'm comfortable with sitting in silence. My room, or anywhere in the house for starters, of course, but throughout Sotoba, there's a few small places where the natural surroundings are just so right, I can sit comfortably and take in the peace and quiet. Natsuno, from what I've gathered from the small amount of time I've spent with him is the complete opposite, he may be lonely, but he likes his solitude. Unless I miss my guess, he'll love some of the places I have to show him.

He blinks, looking over his shoulder at me. I'm smiling from ear to ear. "Ok, yeah, sure." _Yes!_

I meet him after school and, after insisting on a change of clothes, we start to walk home. He's still trying to remain indifferent. He glances back over his shoulder every now and then, as if he's looking for someone, or something. I glance back once or twice, but don't see anything. I'm hesitant to ask what he's looking for.

"Here we go," I announce with a chuckle as we come on one of the places I wanted to show him. I look over my shoulder at him. "Have you ever come down this road before?"

"No."

I smile. "Thirsty?"

"A little."

I catch him by the wrist. "C'mon, then," I laugh, pulling him to a small structure on the side.

"Hey, what?"

"See this spring here? It's the Healing Water. It's always cold and yummy. It's said if you drink from it you become smarter."

"Really?" he replies sarcastically.

"Yep," I return with a smile from ear to ear, as I back up toward the spring, reaching behind my back and picking up the dipping spoon. I scoop the spoon through the water and splash it at him. He covers his face with his arms just before impact. Once the water splashes him, he shakes his head like a wet dog, his long indigo hair slicking down and framing his face. The look of surprise on his face is adorable. "And I understand you've got an exam coming up, so drink up. May want to get it on your head too." I tease, splashing him a second time.

"Hey, stop that!" he exclaims. Amidst the scolding, I could hear the faint hint of a forcibly hidden laugh. A blush streaks his face as he approaches and snatches the spoon from my hand. He smirks as he uses the spoon to splash me back. I laugh and scoop my hand into the water, splashing him a third time. He returns the favor once more, but as he does, he notices something. "Huh...?" I realizes he's seen it, and don't bother to retaliate. "There's a spider."

I smile. "Ah, you found him! It's a water spider. It's said that it's the god that protects this water. There's only been one since I was a kid, and strangely enough there's never any more or less." I tap the dipping spoon on my shoulder, smiling from ear to ear. "What do you think, pretty cool isn't it?" He starts to walk away. "Hey, where are you going?"

"It's gross to drink water a spider's been in."

I frown for a moment. Then smile and pounce him again. "Alright, then let's go buy some juice!" I wink and giggle. "I know a great place."

I'm not sure if he does so reluctantly or not, but he follows me back into town. I lead him to Kaname's restaurant. Our clothes have dried by the time we reach the restaurant, thanks to walking in the afternoon heat. After a bit of playful prodding, I finally get Natsuno to admit the water was a welcome method of staying cool while in-route. I greet Kaname-San and order two drinks, and a small snack from the menu. "Ne, Natsuno, want anything else? My treat!" I offer.

He shakes his head. "Stop calling me that. And no, it is not your treat! I'll pay for my own drink, thank you."

"I won't hear of it!" I refuse.

He huffs out a sigh. "Fine, if you insist. But no, just a juice is fine."

I smile and he tries to look away. "Alright, suit yourself," I chuckle. "Have a seat, it'll be a moment before our order's ready."

"Right," he nods, finding the most isolated spot he can to sit. There's not a lot of people in the place at the moment, but we can already hear them whispering.

 _ **"That's the boy from the atelier isn't it?"**_

 _So help me, if any one of them starts something with him..._ _He's having enough trouble adjusting to being here without the rest of you pulling this sort of stuff._ I look over my shoulder at the other patrons, glaring in their direction. The whispers die down. He turns and looks out the window. I'm not sure what he saw, but he was starting to get up and move, just as I sit down across from him. "Alright, here we go!" I laugh, setting our order down on the table. Noticing his face, I glance out the window. "Oh, it's Megumi-Chan. What's'a'matter, big guy? Got a crush on her?" I tease.

"NO!" he replies, "I'm trying to avoid her."

"You make it sound like she's stalking you?"

"Something like that," I think I hear him mumble.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"So, you've been here just a little over two months now, right?" I asks. He nods, then quickly adverts his eyes as I smile. "So, if not Megumi-Chan, is there anyone around here you do have a crush on?"

He nearly chokes on his drink, his eyes locking on him for a second. _Wow, didn't mean for that, but I guess that makes us even?_ He sets the drink down coughing slightly. He links his fingers together and rests the area between his nose and mouth against the edge of them. "As a matter of fact..." he starts.

The door to the restaurant opens, and the bell hanging from it jingles. I instinctively look up toward the door and I KNOW my face lights up like a Christmas Tree. "Ritsu-Chan!" I jump to my feet and run to greet her.

She's a nurse from Dr. Ozaki's clinic. She's a few years older than I am, but that doesn't matter to me. I find her absolutely beautiful; her smile, her eyes, her long blue hair, her slim, yet shapely figure. I stand as close to her as possible, hands tucked behind my back as I chat with her. We talk for a moment, before I'm broken from the trance and remember I'm here with a friend.

"Ne, come on, Ritsu-Chan, I want you to meet someone!" I say excitedly, catching her hand and pulling her over to the table where I left Natsuno sitting. "Ritsu-Chan, I'd like to introduce you to Yuuki/Koide Natsuno. Natsuno, this is Kunihiro Ritsuko-Chan. She's a nurse at Ozaki-Sensei's clinic."

"Nice to meet you, Natsuno," she says.

"Yuuki, please," he request, "Nice to meet you too."

She joins us at the table and I run back to the counter to buy something for her as well. I return shortly and rejoin them. The three of us spend the rest of the afternoon talking.

Maybe it's just because I've got him to the point he feels comfortable around me, but he opens up a little, talking with us. Out of nowhere, he tells us about an accident when he was a child, that injured his knee, and how it's bothered him ever since. "I run, bike, or walk everyday to try and strengthen it," he tells us.

Ritsu-Chan smiles. "That's good. Does it bother you often?"

He shakes his head. "Not often, but from time to time."

"Wow, I had no idea," I say. I smile at him. "If it ever acts up and you need support, feel free to lean on me," I offer.

We talk for a bit more and finish our drinks then head outside. Megumi-Chan is standing across the way, frowning at us. Had she been watching us the entire time? Before I can say anything, we hear the sound of a dog barking.

"Tarou!" Ritsu-Chan scolds the dog that's running up to us, "What are you doing here?" She picks him up and introduces him to Natsuno. The dog leaps from her arms into Natsuno's and begins licking his face. It takes both of us to pull him off.

* * *

Time passes and Natsuno starts to hang out with me more and more often. Every time I see him now, I rush up and pounce him, like a cat after a mouse, pulling him into a bear hug. He pushes me off and behaves cold and stoic, but I think he actually rather likes it. I've lost track of all his failed attempts not to smile.

Megumi-Chan storms away every time she sees us together. This morning, I had to ride the bus, for the first time in a long while. She was already standing there. She looked bored. She was staring at the ground, shuffling her feet. I felt uncomfortable as I walked up to the bus stop. She already didn't like me, but ever since Natsuno and I started hanging out, she began to dislike me even more. Almost to the same point that Masao disliked Natsuno. Maybe I should just move on to the next stop? But then I might miss it altogether. I stop in my tracks and Megumi-Chan whirls around, wide eyed and smiling.

"Good morning, Yuu..." she starts off cheerfully. "Oh," she deflates and crosses her arms, frowning and tapping her foot, "It's YOU." Her voice is so cold and bitter it runs a chill through me.

"G-Good morning, Megumi-Chan," I greet her, trying to act as though I don't notice the malice in her voice she'd directed toward me. "I'm sorry, where you expecting someone?"

"I was hoping it was Yuuki-Kun," she pouted.

I close my eyes and sigh. "You know, Megumi-Chan, I don't really think Natsuno's comfortable with you following him around like you do." I'm being honest, for both their sake.

"Yet, you think he's perfectly fine with the way you cling to him, you hypocrite?" she asks, stomping her foot and placing her hands on her hips.

"Huh?"

She pouts and stomps her foot again, hands clenched into fists at her sides. "What do you know? Don't talk like you know how my Yuuki-Kun feels."

"Your Yuuki-Kun?" I ask, raising an annoyed eyebrow. "Megumi-Chan, he doesn't even talk to you unless he has to," I point out, "He's told me himself he's asked you to quit following him. Maybe you should just back off? Natsuno isn't the kind of guy who can just warm up to you, is you STAY in his personal space, you know. You gotta' back off when he pushes you away and wait until he's ready to let you in."

Megumi-Chan's face turned beat red at this and she faltered for a moment, twirling a finger through her hair, as if she thought I might know something. She shook her head, then turned her eyes back to me furiously. "You're a jerk Mutou-Kun!" she snipped.

"ME?" I exclaim. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not who you hoped I was when I walked up here, but I'm only telling you the truth. I don't think he likes the way you follow him around all the time."

"Yo! Is the bus late, or did we miss it?" a familiar voice breaks up the argument.

"Yuuki-Kun!" Megumi-Chan exclaims.

"Natsuno!" I give him my usual greeting of a playful cat-like pounce. "I figured you'd already be halfway to school by now?"

I get pushed off and sucker punched in the shoulder. "Get off, and STOP calling me that!" I give him one of my smiles and a soft chuckle that just seems to melts him, proving my earlier point. Megumi-Chan looks like she's fuming. "I had trouble climbing out of bed this morning. I kept hearing noises in the bushes last night. I think there was some kind of animal rummaging around outside my room and it kept me up." He stares at Megumi-Chan, who's entire face is now beat red. She shies away. Huh...? What? Did... Did I miss something here? Did something happen when I wasn't looking? No, Natsuno really looks tired, and irritable. I need to lighten the mood somehow, before we're all soaked in a blood bath at the hands of one or both of them.

"Maybe it was an Oni, come to eat your soul for being such a grumpy pants," I tease, still rubbing my shoulder.

"Idiot," Megumi-Chan and Natsuno say simultaneously. I blink at them. Megumi-Chan's voice had been seething with hatred. Natsuno's however, was full of a poorly hidden fondness.

"I don't believe in fairy-tales like that," he states. "An Oni is just as bogus as that spider god of yours at the healing spring."

"Hey! Don't mock the spider god!" I protest, "He may curse you next time you reach into that water!"

"Jeez, Mutou, you're so childish!" Megumi-Chan exclaims. Natsuno gives a quiet smirk from behind her, as if he agrees with her for once. Since she's facing me, however, so it goes unnoticed by her.

The bus arrives and we all climb on board. "Tohru-Chan!" Masao exclaims, sounding both surprised and happy to see me. "It's not like you to ride the bus. Would you like a seat? Oh..." His enthusiasm changes when he seems Natsuno climb on behind me. "Never mind."

Natsuno plops down in a window seat. I decide to plop down beside him before Megumi-Chan tries to muscle her way in next to him. _Sorry, Masao, not today._

"Ah, Megumi-Chan! Good morning!" Masao greets her. Poor guy, she doesn't even say hello. He clenches his teeth and looks out the window with a discouraged huff. Seriously, I feel like the odd person out in some weird harem anime.

I walk home with Natsuno after school. "So, what's really going on with you and Megumi-Chan?" I ask.

"Huh?" he looks back over his shoulder at me curiously and stops long enough for me to catch up with him. "What do you mean?"

"She follows you everywhere. Even now she's following us at a distance where she can't hear us and thinks we don't notice her. She only seems to stay away when I'm around. She's never been crazy about me, I admit," I say. I'm not trying to boast, but even Natsuno's aware that that's unusual compaired to the other people in this town, "But she's become a lot colder toward everyone since you moved here. What did you do to her?"

"ME!?" he exclaims. "What makes you think I did something to her? Did she say anything like that?"

"No, NO!" I exclaim, wide eyed and waiving my hands in the air. "I don't mean." I can't help blushing. _Did he think I meant...?_ "Oh God, no, I don't mean to insinuate you two have been promiscuous or anything."

"It's not what I did to her!" he sighs and look away, lowering his voice as he mumbles, "It's what she's doing to me."

"Huh?" _What did he just say?_ "Hey, Natsuno...?" I move closer.

"Don't touch me!" he orders. I freeze. I can hear the hurt and frustration in his. "And don't call me that, either." He clenches his fists. "I'm going home!" He starts to walk away.

"Hey, Natsuno, wait!" I exclaim. I can't help being concerned now. Natsuno freezes as I catch his wrist. "I'm sorry. You're a good kid, I know that." I walk up and ruffle my free hand through his hair, flashing him a comforting smile. _Whatever's going on, I'm on your side, ok?_ "What I meant was did you do or say anything that gave her the impression she had a chance to be your girlfriend, then turn around and break her heart by telling her she'd misunderstood you?" I release him and place my hands on my hips. "NOT did you seduce her over night then leave her in the woods to walk home by herself, ya' perve!" I add, partially teasing, partially scolding. Though, to be honest, that idea HAD crossed my mind this morning.

"Straight for the worst possible scenario?" he chortles, shaking his head, "I didn't see that coming from you, Tohru-Chan." He smiles, not a half cocked smirk, like usual, but a genuine smile. "No," he answers seriously, "Nothing like that. I've even asked her to leave me alone, but she doesn't listen. ... Just like someone else," he adds, teasingly, "You people around here sure are stubborn, you know that?"

"What can I say, we like our consistencies," I laugh. "But, seriously, if you want to talk about it, I'm all ears."

He glances behind us. "Not here, not out in the open."

"Then come back to my place for a while."

"Can't we've got a mock exam first thing in the morning tomorrow."

"I'll help you study for it afterwards. C'mon, Mom should be home by the time we get there, we can get her to cook up a small snack to take up to my room. You can tell me all about what's going on, I'll help you study, then we can play a few video games before you head home," I insist.

We make eye contact. "Ok, sure."

He follows me home. I rush upstairs to my bedroom and make sure there's nothing out in the open that he doesn't need to see. It is laundry day, today, wouldn't want a stray pair of underwear laying around or something. We settle in on my bed with the books he needs for the exam in the morning and the snacks Mom prepared for us.

Natsuno's come to accept he's safe with me. He's comfortable enough to confide in me. My jaw drops as he tells me the truth about Megumi-Chan, about how she's followed him around since day one, and seems delusional that they're friends or something. "There's more," he adds, "I can't prove it, but that wasn't an animal I heard outside my window I heard last night."

"Eh? You don't mean...?" I freeze in shock.

He nods. "She's out there every night, but doesn't think I see her. But, I have no way of proving it's her." I never thought Megumi-Chan was capable of stooping to stalking. I know I don't give way to rumors, but this is coming straight from Natsuno. He hates gossip, lies, and slander. He wouldn't just make this stuff up. A chill runs down me at the thought of her spying on him, too. He shivers as I wrap a comforting arm around him and place my hand on his shoulder.

"Have you confronted her about it?" I ask. He shakes his head. "Want me to tell her to back off?"

"No. She'd just deny it, claim she's above that sort of thing," he says, almost curling into the fetal position, "Then she'd point out the fact that I can't prove it. I doubt that would make her stop, she hasn't stopped following me yet, like I've asked her to. If I'm lucky that's all she'd do."

"So, I'm kind of like the guard dog keeping her at bay?" I ask. Natsuno flinches and looks away. The solemn look on his face shoots a pain through my heart. She's been doing this for months now, and he's been dealing with it on his own. He slowly looks up at me. I smile and ruffle a hand through his beautiful silky hair before pouncing and hugging him. "Maybe I should bark at her the next time I see her try to talk to you, huh?" I laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiles and laughs as he shrugs me off. "Get off, idiot." With a sigh, he looks out the bedroom window. "Since I'm confiding in you. There is one more secrete I hope I can trust you with."

"What's that, Natsuno?" I ask.

"The day you introduced me to Ritsu-Chan, you asked me if there was someone I liked."

I smile and nod. "Yeah, so is there?"

He nods, but continues staring at the tree out the window. "It's not Shimizu, but there is someone. I can't really act on it, though."

"Why not?" I ask. "She's already got a boyfriend?"

"No."

"She's too old for you? It's not one of the teachers is it!"

"No, and NO!"

"Too young?"

"NO!"

"Out of town?"

"No."

"Think she's out of your leauge?" He nods. "You never know until you try. Someone I know? Maybe I can put in a good word for you?" I offer.

"No, that would just be awkward," he laughs. "But, yes, someone you know."

I put my hands on my hips and scowl. "It's not Ritsu-Chan herself is it?"

"No."

 _Oh thank goodness! I'd hate to compete with him over her. I'm already uncertain if she feels the same for me that I do for her. But, then... Wait!?_

"My sister!?"

"NOoo..." he rolls his eyes. "Forget I said anything, alright. Stop trying to guess."

I pauses and stare at him for a moment. "It's not even a girl, is it?"

He looks away and nods. "Yeah. Look, if that weirds you out and you want me to leave, I understand. Just say so, and I'll show myself out."

 _Really...? I never would have guessed._ Though, I suppose that explains his disinterest in Megumi-Chan. I'm head over hills for Ritsuko, but even I have to acknowledge how pretty Megumi-Chan is. Heck, if she didn't give everyone the cold shoulder, I might even have considered dating her when she got a little older.

I look back up at Natsuno, in a stunned silence. He's wrapped his arms even tighter around himself and seems to be shivering a little. He just confided in me the biggest secret he could ever share with anyone. _Poor guy..._ Growing up an introvert in a city full of people, where he could just blend iinto the crowd and go unnoticed, only to be drug out to the country where people gossip and force one another into the public eye. They already judge based on the fact that his parents aren't married, that they're athiest, but if they found out he was gay, too? I close my eyes and sigh.

"Ok..." I say out loud, "So you're not into girls. I guess it would be kind of awkward for me to try and help hook you up with a guy. Especially in this town. No wonder you're not interested in Megumi-Chan." I pat the top of his hand and smile. "Don't worry, your secrete's safe with me," I assure him.

He smiles at me, obviously surprised by my understanding promise. "Thanks."

I smile back. "What are best friends for?" I laugh. I sist quiet for a second then get hit with a moment of realization. "It's not my brother is it!?" I exclaim.

"NO!" I get sucker punched for the second time today, but I hear a faint hint of a laugh in his protest. "Look, I'm not telling you, so just drop it already, will ya?"

"Sorry," I say with a smile, rubbing the back of my head. I decide to quit pressing the issue. If he doesn't want to say, I shouldn't push him. Maybe he thinks it'd make things even more awkward if I knew who it was.

I don't know how much time passed, with the two of us just sitting there talking. But gradually, his sleep deprivation begins to get to him. He blinks once, twice, a third time, and he's out like a light, his head resting on my shoulder. I smile fondly at him. He's a cute kid, and really not such a bad guy once you get to know him. I think I'm starting to think of him as another brother. He shivers a little, so I pull one of my blankets up, wrapping it around him. I gently rake a hand through his soft purple hair and smile at his sleeping face. In that brief moment, I actually have a twinge of jealousy toward whoever it is he's crushing on. They say love is a part of friendship. Again, I'm straight as an arrow and head over heels for Ritsu-Chan, but if I weren't, and he were just a little older...

"What the hell?" Natsuno exclaims when he finally wakes up a few hours later.

I laugh. "Well, you did say you had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I pulled the cover over you so you wouldn't get cold."

"Why didn't you just knock me the hell over?" he asks, rubbing his eyes.

"You looked way too comfortable," I giggle.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yo?" Natsuno calls to me as we're getting ready to leave school.

"Ah, Natsuno, what's up?" I turn and smile at him.

"I've got a test I need to prepare for on Monday, would it be ok if I come to your place to study for it? Maybe you could help me out with it a little?"

I blink at him for a moment. _Really? He wants ME to help him?_ "Gee, Natsuno, you're smarter than I am, ya' know, but sure, if you really want my help, I'd be happy to."

When we reach my house, I make sure I'm the first one in the room. Good, everything in place. If he sees this, he'll never let me hear the end of it. Whether he teases me, or simply belittles me, I'd never hear the end of it. I take off my coat and tie and hang them in the closet, while Natsuno lays his off to the side. I'm feeling a little stuffy, so I unbutton the first two or three buttons on my shirt.

Mom comes up, bringing us a freshly made batch of homemade mochi and asks if Natsuno's staying for dinner. "I had only planned to study, then go home, but when the invitation is coming from you, Mutou-San, it's hard to refuse," he replies, sending a faint blush across my mother's face. She makes a bit of a fuss about how polite he is, before turning and going back down to the kitchen.

We each do our homework first, helping one another when needed. Then, Natsuno starts studying until Mom calls us for dinner. After the meal, we go back up. I take the books Natsuno had to study from and ask him to point out the pages in each one. I leave him sitting on the bed and carry the books with me, settling in next to the TV. "Stay here," I wag my finger in his face, "No cheating," I say with a wink. He gives me a confused look, but does as he's told.

"What are you?" he asks.

"You'll see," I laugh. I settle on the floor with the books and a pen and paper. As I look over the content he's studying, I begin to scribble on the paper, drawing up a mock test. Once I'm satisfied with my work, I carry the paper and pen back over to him. He looks at it for a moment. I can't tell if he's surprised I did this for him, or if he's just admiring my penmanship. I smile and hold up another sheet of paper, winking, again. "I've got the answers right here. I'll grade you when you're done."

Natsuno smiles. Once more, it's a genuine smile, not a faked one. I'm starting to love seeing that smile more and more. Next to Ritsu-Chan, Natsuno has become my favorite person, here as of late. I don't want to risk distracting him, so I stay on the bed, staring out the window at the sky. We're in my room, so the quiet isn't so unbearable. I sit with my legs crossed, hands wrapped around my ankles, just quietly staring out the window. Dark clouds slowly begin to roll into view from the East. Looks like rain. I hope Natsuno doesn't have to go home in a thunderstorm.

Just as he finishes, there's a loud thunder crash outside and a heavy rain begins. "That came out of nowhere!" He look out the window.

"Nah," I tell him, "It's been creeping in for the last twenty minutes, but it didn't seem like it was going to rain this hard."

"I'm SO not walking home in this," he scoffs.

"You wanna' stay the night?" I offer. "We don't have school tomorrow, anyway. This is perfect monster movie weather."

"Monster movies?" he doesn't sound very enthusiastic.

"Aw, c'mon, don't tell me YOU get scared easily?" I tease, playfully poking him.

"NO!" he snips. "I just don't watch monster movies. Dad doesn't let that kind of stuff into the house."

"What!? Dude, you have no idea what you're missing!" I tell him.

"If you say so," he sighs. "And what do you mean, 'stay the night?'"

"Ya' know, sleep over? We can invite Tamotsu up and turn it into a boy's night in slumber party." He looks at me for a moment as if I had just spoke Latin or something. The look on his face tells the whole story. He has NO idea what I'm talking about. I slump at this realization, and look at him, slack jawed. "Don't tell me? You mean you've never had a sleep over?"

"Never."

"Ok, that's it," I jump to my feet and head for the door. "This is so happening!"

"Wait? Where am I going to sleep if we do this? Where's Tamo-Chan going to sleep for that matter? Back in his room."

"Nah," I shake my head and hold up a hand, smiling at him, "he can bring up a pillow and blanket from his room and sleep on the floor. There's enough room you and I can share the bed, if need be."

"What?" he blushes. "Tohru-Chan? Have you forgotten?"

I smile at him. _Don't worry, kiddo, I trust ya'!_ "No, but it's not like you're going to try anything, are you? After all, Tamotsu's going to be in the room, too. Besides, it's not like I'm the guy you like, right? Just sit tight, I'll be right back." With that, I leave the room.

A few moments pass and I return with Tamotsu. Tamo-Chan has a blanket and pillow in tow, and we're both carrying a variety of snacks and drinks. Aoi-Chan peeks in behind us. "Hey, guys, can I at least sit and watch the movie with you?" she asks.

"Sure, Sis," Tamotsu says, "come sit next to me." She leaves the door cracked and takes a spot on the floor next to him.

I go to the shelf where my monster movies are sitting. Glancing at the clock, it's only just half past six. I start to rifle through them, and smile as I find the one I'm looking for. Sliding the cassette from its case, I slip it into the VCR, before plopping down on the bed next to Natsuno. "We'll start with this one." The twins see the case and roll their eyes.

"Start?" Natsuno asks.

"Tohru-Niisan has at least ten different horror movies sitting on that shelf," Tamotsu informs him.

"All of which are pretty cheesy," Aoi-Chan adds with a giggle.

"Speak for yourself," I snort, "These things are terrifying."

There are few scenes here and there that cause Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu-Chan to huddle together. Natsuno never reacts at all. As Aoi-Chan said, the effects on a lot of them are cheesy, but the atmosphere and plots, and everything about them all rolled into one chill me to the bone every time I watch them. I gradually become a bundle of nerves, but there's something fun about letting myself get scared of these things.

"Kyaah!" I shriek, during the werewolf transformation. The actor makes it look so painful, and the effects are well done.

"Would you get off me!?" Natsuno growls. I pounced him, again, without thinking about it. Only, this time, my arms are wrapped tight around his waist and my face buried in his side, like I'm trying to hide from the creature on the screen. _God, he must think I'm so lame right now._

"Aren't you scared of it?" I look up at him, questioningly.

"No," he snorts, "It's just a movie."

"Yeah, but..."

"Tohru-Niisan always gets scared during this scene," Aoi-Chan laughs.

"Always?" Natsuno frowns at me. "How many times have you seen this thing?"

"Um... I've lost count?" I answer timidly.

"Enough he knows it by heart and can quote it in his sleep," Tamotsu says. My eyes lock onto my younger brother for a moment, and I frown at him. I advert my gaze toward the pillow at the other end of the bed and consider hitting him with it. _Nah, that would require moving... And Natsuno's side is actually quite the comfortable perch, now that I've death locked onto him._ My eyes quietly shift toward the fifteen year old. If I were to let go of him, snatch the pillow, and hit Tamotsu, only to turn and cringe behind Natsuno again within mere seconds, he's liable to pound me. _I'd be better off if I just stay put._ The actor on the screen lets out a pained yowl as the camera zooms in on the fangs growing in his mouth. I give a startled squeak and cling tighter to Natsuno.

Natsuno's frown deepens. "And it STILL scares you?" I give a hesitant nod. He scoffs and pushes me off. "Ridiculous. Get off. What are you a child?"

We watch a few more movies, and I continue to cling to him, tighter and tighter with each passing fright. He eventually stops pushing me away. Midway through our third or fourth movie, I've lost track by this point, Aoi-Chan yawns and gets up. "Well, it's been fun guys," she says, "but I'm heading to bed. Night."

"Night," we all answer her as she leaves the room. She's barely out of the room for two seconds, when we hear her shriek.

"Aoi-Chan?" Tamotsu-Chan and I exclaim. I release Natsuno from my death grip and jump over Tamotsu, sliding to a stop right in front of the closed bedroom door. It takes all but a second for the boys to jump up and follow after me.

"Aoi-Chan, what's wrong?" I fling open the door, worried for my sister's safety.

Aoi-Chan's sitting on the stairs, staring up at the ceiling, hands balled into fists just above her chest. "S-Something just flew in front of my face," she said, holding her hand to her heart.

Natsuno flicks on the stairway lights and we all heave a quiet sigh as the creature in question begins to flit about the light fixture. "Jeez, Aoi-Chan, it's just a big moth," Tamotsu grumbles.

"I guess the movies made her paranoid," Natsuno says.

"Back off, you two," I scold them, helping Aoi-Chan to her feet. "It just startled her is all."

Aoi-Chan blushes and nods. "I'm sorry, guys. But I wasn't expecting something to just fly at me. I'll be alright now." She kisses my cheek, turns and sticks her tongue out at the boys, and runs down the stairs, quickly ducking into her room. I'm pretty sure I heard the click of the lock as the door pushed to.

"What's going on up there?" Mom calls, coming to the bottom of the stairs.

"It's nothing, Mom," I assure her.

"Aoi-Chan just let her imagination run away with her, that's all," Tamotsu chuckles.

"It's nearly 11 pm, shouldn't you kids be going to bed already?" Mom asks with a sigh. "At least stop the screaming, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," we answer, the three of us going back to the room.

I close the door behind us and lean against it with a sigh. The three of us look at each other in silence for a moment, then start to laugh.

"Imagine Aoi-Chan being scared of a bug," Tamo-Cahn chuckles.

"I didn't know you could move so fast, Tohru-Chan," Natsuno chortles.

"Neither did I," I admit with a laugh. I turn off the movie with a sigh. "Ok, Mom's right. Fun's over, it's time for bed." I switch off the light and crawl back onto the bed beside Natsuno. He pushes himself as far against the wall as possible. "Good night," I yawn.

"Good night," the other two both say.

* * *

Some people moved into the European style mansion that was recently built up on the hill in the middle of the night the other night. Hopefully, for Natsuno's sake these new people will be the new talk of the town. They're rich, if Natsuno's lucky, they'll have a son who'll come in and sweep Megumi-Chan off her feet like some dashing prince or something.

It's Thursday night now. All the men in the village have gone out looking for Megumi-Chan, after her parents said she hadn't come home. I rush to the phone and call Natsuno's house. Koide-San answers, but calls Natsuno to the phone. "Ne, Natsuno, did you here?"

"How many times do I gotta' ask you not to use my first name?" he grumbles. "Did I hear what?"

"About Megumi-Chan?"

"That they don't know where she is? Yeah, I heard. Dad went out to help with the search."

"Dude, she's not hiding outside your..."

Natsuno interrupts me. "If she was, don't you think I'd take the opportunity to get her in trouble, so she'd stop!? No, she hasn't been there all afternoon, I keep looking. If I see her out there, I'm going to call the cops and report it so they can call off the search." He falls silent for a moment. Then heaves a sigh. His next words send a chill through my spine. "I gotta' tell you, though, man... With everyone out looking for her, NOT having her there is a lot more unsettling than knowing she is. I just want her to leave me alone, I'm not wishing anything ill will on her."

"N...Natsuno..." I blink as my whole body shivers. Then smile. Everyone has him figured wrong. He's really not a bad guy at all. "Hey, relax, I'm sure she's just off having some sort of diva moment, throwing a temper-tantrum in the middle of the woods and lost track of time. You'll see, she'll be right back in your window, driving you insane tomorrow night!"

I hear a chuckle come from him as he fails to hold it back. "Right, that sounds like her. An argument with her parents, or that little pig-tailed friend of hers, or teasing about her choice in clothing from the villagers, and now she's hiding out somewhere to make everyone worry as punishment?"

I laugh. "Diva at it's finest." I don't have to see Natsuno's face to know I've got him smiling. "Ne, if you do see her, call me right after you call the police station, ok? I want all the juicy details from you before the gossipers twist everything around."

"That's a promise," Natsuno assures me. We both laugh, say our goodbyes, and hang up. We may joke about the situation, and Natsuno may want her out of his hair, but deep down, we're both actually worried about her.

It's early Friday morning when they find her. She'd been in a yellow dress with black skull and crossbones on the bottom with spaghetti strap shoulders and low cleavage. Her hair was pulled into her trademark pigtails, a pair of high-heeled sandals that came up to her calves with spiked bands wrapped around them. When they found her, her eyes were glossed over her arms sprawled above her head, one leg laid flat, the other bent up at the knee. They say there was a small drop where they found her and believe she simply slipped on the heels of her shoes and fell. I hope that's all it is. Otherwise, there's one really sick individual running around Sotoba.

Monday again. Mom comes to get me up for school. "Come straight home today," she says as I'm climbing out of bed.

"Eh? Why, are we going somewhere?" I ask curiously.

She shakes her head. "Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't closed school for the day. The Shimizu girl..." She hesitates as I reach into my closet. "She passed away early this morning."

"WHAT!?" I spin around, wide eyed and stare at my mother. "Me-Meg-Megumi-Chan is...?" I stammer. She nods. I frown and throw my uniform onto the bed. "You're right, why are they making us go to school if one of our classmates is dead? Very few of us will actually be able concentrate on anything!" Poor Kaori-Chan must be in hysterics, after all, Megumi-Chan had been Kaori-Chan's best, if not her only friend, before she'd started behaving so coldly toward her. In fact there had been times where Kaori-Chan would be brought up in conversations and no one would know who she was until they heard "Shimizu's friend." Megumi-Chan's parents must be a wreck right now, too. I hate to even think of Masao's current mental state. I wonder how Natsuno's coping with it? Suddenly, I'm glad he never told anyone but me about her stalking him.

"Then, do you want to stay home?" Mother asks.

I look down at my school uniform and bite the tip of my thumb. I can feel the sting of tears in my eyes. Even though we've never been close, I feel sorry it happened. I did know her to some degree, after all. I heave a sigh and pick up my school uniform. "No, I guess I'll go," I say, "But I promise to come right home to change for the funeral." Mother sighs and nods, then turns and heads downstairs to break the news to Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu-Chan. The twins both decide to stay home. It makes sense, I suppose. She was closer to them in age.

I'm walking through the halls of the school, my book satchel slung over my shoulder in my right hand. There's more of our classmates that came to school today than expected, but still, a lot of them did stay home. As expected, Kaori-Chan's nowhere to be seen. I can't even begin to imagine how she must feel.

"TOOHRUU-CHAANN!" I freeze. _What's he doing here?_ Masao runs up and throws his arms around me, sobbing frantically. "To-Tohru-Chan, say it isn't so? Megumi-Chan's not really gone is she?"

I sigh. I hate to break his heart any further. "No, Masao, I wish I could tell you this is all just a bad dream." As expected, he wails and begins sobbing even more. "Masao, I'm sorry," I say, "I know you liked her, and all, but I really don't know what to tell you." _Which begs the question._ "Why are you even here today? I thought you'd be at home getting ready for the funeral?"

I heave a sigh as he releases me. My jacket is drenched in ice cold tears of sorrow. He sniffles and turns his gaze to the floor, slumping at the waist. "I wanted to," he growled, "But Dad saw my grades on the test we were handed back last week, and insisted I had to come to school today or he'd lock me out of the house for a whole week."

"Wow, man, that really sucks." I start to lower my book bag. I feel sorry for the guy. Somehow I can believe his father really would stoop to that. "I..."

"Tohru-Chan, you're the only one who understands how I feel!" he wails, throwing his arms around me and sobbing again.

I heave a defeated sigh as my shirt continues to get soaked. I can't exactly shove him off without good reason. If only... Ah...!? "N-Natsuno?" He's standing at the other end of the hallway, glaring at us. He almost looks jealous. He hears me call his name, tosses his head, turns, and starts to walk away. "W-Wait!?" I sigh and gently untangle myself from Masao's hold. "Sorry, Masao," I say, tussling his hair. "Can you give me a moment. I'll come back before the bell rings if I have the chance," I promise. I move away, trying to ignore the tear soaked daggers I feel Masao hurling at Natsuno and me both right now, and chase after the younger teen. "Hey, Natsuno, wait up?" I call.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" he growls, before I can even touch him. I freeze like a scolded dog who's just been told to 'Sit and Stay'. "I don't want you getting that guys tears all over my clothes," he says.

"Hey, buddy, are you ok?" I ask, "I mean, with this news about Megumi-Chan?"

He turns and looks at me. "I'm not sure," he admits. "Like I told you, I didn't want anything bad to happen to her." He leans against the wall and sighs. "I don't know how I feel. I guess I just need some time to figure it all out."

"I see..." I say, tapping my fingers together. "You going to the funeral?"

"Long enough to pay my respects. I don't really intend to stick around. It's not like I knew her as well as everyone else. By the way, did you come to school alone?"

"Yeah," I nod, sheepishly, glancing away, "Ao-Chan and Tamo-Chan thought it would be disrespectful, since they knew her a little better. I could have stayed home today, but, I didn't know her that well, and I didn't really get along with her. My family has been nothing but civil to her, or anyone else in the village, yet she never liked me, and began to outright hate me after I started to hang out with you. So, I'll pay my respects at the funeral, but there's no point in my staying home. Besides, I wanted to know how you were holding up. I assumed you'd be here."

"Of course I'm here," he sighs, tiredly, "It's a school day." He put an emphasis on the last two words. _He's even more determined to leave than ever, isn't he?_

I heave a sigh and concede to that reasoning. "Alright. Look, Natsuno, if you need an ear. I'm here for you, ok? Why don't you come over tomorrow to take your mind off things?"

"I dunno', man," he says, "We'll see." I nod, that's the best I can hope for.

I excuse myself, and turn to head back to Masao, who's still staring daggers at us, and now mumbling something under his breath about Natsuno, but I can't really make out what he's saying. As I get closer, I hear something along the lines of, _**"Can't stand him. Why does everyone think he's so great? Megumi-Chan's gone, and he doesn't give a damned."**_ _Dude, this has effected HIM more than you could ever imagine._ _**"Wish he'd been the one to die instead!"**_

I frown, knowing for certain I heard that last part clearly. "That's not very nice, Masao," I scold. "You shouldn't wish death on anyone." I'm starting to feel myself drift apart from Masao as of late. I can't stop being friends with him, for no good reason, but his jealousy over Natsuno's really starting to bother me, and with him acting like this, I find it difficult to WANT to console him over Megumi-Chan's death. But I'm still willing to try. I look at him for a moment, trying to think of something to say to him. But before I can even open my mouth, the bell rings, and we have to leave for our classes. "Hey, M-Masao..." I call after him, "If you want to walk home with me, you can ride with us to Megumi-Chan's funeral this afternoon," I offer.

"R-Really?" he asks, brushing a tear away from his eye. "That'd be great! Thanks, Tohru-Chan!"

Masoa walks home with me. We walk in silence for a moment, then he asks me something out of the blue. "So, what was that with you and Natsuno this morning?"

"Huh?" I ask, looking over at him.

"You pushed me away to go talk with him," he growls. "Was there something important you needed to talk with him?"

 _I see, he's trying to justify why I left his side to talk to someone else. Typical Masaoism._ "I... Well, Megumi-Chan was rather fond of him, you know," I answer, quietly, "I wanted to make sure he knew about the funeral tonight, and if he was going. It'd mean a lot to her if he did."

"That's not what it looked like to me," Masao hissed. "He seemed jealous before you took off." _So, Masao noticed that too?_ "What, are you two gay for each other or something?"

"Huh...? WH-WHAT!?" I exclaim. I feel an unexpected heat sweep my face. _Oh, dear God, am I blushing?_ "NO!" I insist, "I'm not gay! I'm... I..." Now I know I'm blushing. "There's an older girl that I have a crush on," I admit. "But as for Natsuno..." _I'm STILL trying to figure that one out myself._ "I honestly don't know, he doesn't talk about that sort of stuff. You'd have to ask him yourself."

"I wouldn't even give that jerk the time of day!" Masao huffs.

"Well, then, in that case, I guess you'll never know," I reason. Natsuno's not into girls. That much I DO know, and I promise I'll never let on to anyone else that I do. He has a crush on someone, that I also know. But he refuses to say who, and knowing him, even if I tried to guess and managed hit the nail on the head, he'd deny it. Sorry, Masao, but you won't catch me off guard and betraying him that easily. Under better conditions, I'd tease him and ask if he wanted to know because he had a crush on one of us instead, but on our way home to get ready for a funeral isn't exactly the best conditions for such tomfoolery.

Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu-Chan greet Masao with open arms. At least he can find comfort from them for a while, while I go upstairs and change. Masao has his suit in his book satchel. With the way his father had behaved this morning, he'd decided he was going to avoid going home until after the funeral, anyway.

Everyone looks so different dressed in black. I barely recognize several of the attendants. I see Kaori-Chan's family, but I actually don't see her. There's no way she wouldn't be here for Megumi-Chan. I was right, I didn't see her all through the wake, but she's up toward the front during the funeral procession, with Megumi-Chan's parents. Aoi-Chan and I exchange looks during the procession, and Tamotsu-Chan, and even Mom and Dad seem to have the same disapproving look. The poor girl is dead and about to be buried, but people are still gossiping about her.

 _ **"The poor Shimizus"**_

 _ **"Yeah"**_

 _ **"Why on Earth did this happen so suddenly?"**_

 _ **"One of my relatives lost her child long ago, too. Even children can die."**_

 _ **"I wonder what happened while she was missing."**_

 _ **"She was fickle to begin with."**_

 _ **"Can it be that...?"**_

 _This is pathetic!_ And I don't like where it sounds like this conversation is going.

We reach the grave sight and they lower the coffin. Jr. Monk Muroi Seishin says a few words and they begin to shovel the dirt. Suddenly, Kaori-Chan runs forward, "Shimizu-San, Shimizu-San!" she called. She approaches Megumi-Chan's parents. "Megumi-Chan's birthday was coming up soon, so I'd already bought a present for her." She holds out a box with a pinkish red wrapping paper and a pink ribbon. Pink, the color of Megumi-Chan's hair and eyes. The girl was always fond of that color. "Do you mind... if I put this with her?"

"Kaori!" Tanaka-San scolds, trying to pull her away, "They've got enough to deal with right now."

"I think it's ok," the Jr. Monk said calmly, drawing everyone's attention to him. "You're her friend, aren't you?" Kaori-Chan nods and the Jr. Monk smiles at her. "Go ahead and put it in there. I'm sure she'd be happy, too."

Kaori-Chan smiles and nods, bowing to the Jr. Monk, thanking him profusely, before turning to bow to Megumi-Chan's parents. She approaches the grave and kneels, bending down as far as she can, she gently drops the wrapped gift into the grave. She rises to her feet, dries a few tears away from her eyes, and brushes the dirt from her skirt, before turning and running back to her mother's side. As the last of the dirt is set in place, the Jr. Monk says a few words more words, and everyone goes home.


	4. Chapter 4

Wednesday afternoon. I convince Natsuno to come visit. He settles into what's become his usual spot on my bed and I take my normal spot on the floor.

"So, are you sleeping better, lately?" I ask him.

He gives a silent nod. "Yeah. Much better."

"I probably shouldn't say this, but I guess you're glad she's gone?" I say.

"You're right," he scolds. "You shouldn't say that. Especially where other people can hear you. I wanted her to leave me alone. I never said I wanted her to drop dead. I had trouble sleeping last night after her funeral." I look up at him and blink. But before I can ask, he continues, "I felt guilty that when I learned she was gone, the first thing I thought was that I could start sleeping with the window open. I shouldn't have, but I looked at her death as a form of freedom." He shuddered. "See, I can't even say it without sounding like a jerk. I should be feeling sorry for her family, not acting like that. Even so, it was just the first couple of nights after she stopped coming. After that, I've been sleeping well enough."

Somehow, I have a feeling he's hiding something from me. But I know better than to press the issue. Natsuno confides in me what he feels safe enough opening up about, and doesn't give in to pressure to talk about topics that he wants to avoid. I sigh and move next to him onto the bed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I can understand feeling conflicted like that, Natsuno," I assure him. "I can't relate, I admit. But I don't think anyone in your shoes would feel any different. She never did like me, no matter how hard I tried. I can't say I'll miss her, but I do feel sorry for her friends and family." He smiles and nods.

"Ne, Natsuno, you know how Masao walked home from school with me to get ready for her funeral?" I say after a few moments. He quietly turns his gaze to me.

He sighs. I know he doesn't like talking about Masao. "Yeah, what about it?" he asks.

I look out the window. "Well, while we were walking home, he asked me if you and I were gay for each other."

Natsuno flinches, eyes widening. "W-Wha...? He asked... Wha-What did you tell him?"

"I told him the truth," I say. Natsuno klicks his tongue and looks away from me. I turn my gaze back to him. _Does he think I betrayed him?_ "No, relax!" I assure him. "I didn't tell him you were." He looks back at me questioningly. I give him a reassuring smile. "I told him there's a girl I've got a crush on. But that you don't talk about that kind of stuff, he'd have to ask you himself. Which we all will never happen."

Natsuno gives a chuckle and smiles at me. "Yeah, thanks."

I smile and ruffle a hand through his hair. "Hey, I told you you could trust me, didn't I?" I wink at him.

We hang out a bit more before Natsuno decides to head home. He seems determined to get home before nightfall for some reason. I'm worried, he says he's sleeping better, but I can see signs of fatigue. Maybe this whole thing with Megumi-Chan's taking a bigger toll on him than he's admitting. Why would he hide it? For pride, or because he doesn't want me to worry?

Days pass and I don't hear much from him. It's been maybe one or two weeks now since we've spoken. I'm curious what he's up to, but unless I see him in town, I'm going to wait for him to come looking for me. He's much more agreeable that way. I get up early and get dressed. I'm excited because I managed to pass the test I'd taken at the DMV, and I've arranged to get Ritsu-Chan to ride with me while I practice driving. I rush out of the house, snatching a piece of toast from the table and popping it in my mouth as I duck into my car. I cautiously make my way to Ritsu-Chan's house to pick her up, doing my best not to draw any attention from the police on the way. Ritsu-Chan's outside waiting for me when I arrive, apparently Tarou's coming along for the ride too. Right now, there's no designated destination, it's just a drive for fun. However, along the way, I see a familiar figure walking down the street. _He's in his school clothes...?_

I smile, roll down the window and call out, "Oooi, Natsuno!"

Realizing he hasn't been pounced yet, he slowly turns around as I honk the horn. "Yo...? Woah? Tohru-Chan?" It takes him a moment to realize I'm not just in a car, but I'm behind the wheel.

Leaning out the window, I pull up next to him. "Where are you going all dressed up in your uniform? We're still in the middle of summer break, you know!"

"I actually need to go to school today," he answers. "When did you get your driver's licence?"

"I'm still on my permit. Can't drive without a licenced driver in the vehicle." I point toward Ritsu-Chan. "Ritsu-Chan here is supervising, and giving me lessons."

She smiles and waves. "Hi there!"

"Ah, hello," he nods at her.

"Why are you walking on such a hot day?" I ask, reaching to the back and unlocking the back door. "C'mon, man, get in, get in! I'll drive you. Heck, I'll even take you home afterwards, if you want me to."

He barely even hesitates. I guess he's more comfortable with Ritsu-Chan than I'd thought. "Thanks." He gets in and Ritsu-Chan has to fight to keep Tarou from jumping into the backseat with him.

Ritsu-Chan looks back at him. "So, why were you walking?"

"The buses only come once every hour, so I thought I could walk to the next stop. But it passed by before I got there."

I laugh. "That's happened to me before, too."

"But that's a three hour walk from the village to the high school in Mizobe right?" Ritsu-Chan asks.

Natsuno nods as he leans back in the seat, loosing his tie and unbuttoning the first button or two on his shirt. I guess the AC is a welcome blessing in this blistering heat. "Trains don't even run here. It sucks big time," he grumbles.

"That's why I started getting my folks to drive me. Once I get my license, I'll drive us both from then on, how about that?" I offer. No answer. "... Natsuno?"

"I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I'm really exhausted," he says.

I'm feeling a bit concerned now. Thinking back to our last conversation about his sleep, I KNEW he'd been hiding something from me. "Not enough sleep? You OK?"

Ritsu-Chan snaps a finger in my face. "Hey, look in front of you! There may be kids playing out by the streets, you know."

"It's nothing," he says, "I just couldn't stop thinking about graduating as fast as possible and getting out of this village."

"Still on about that?" I ask, feeling disappointed and defeated.

"Hey, Tohru, isn't that your brother?" Ritsu-Chan asks.

Sure enough, Tamotsu and Masao are just ahead. I roll down the window and honk the horn.. "Ooi! Tomatsu! Masao-Kun!"

Tomatsu catches Masao by the wrist and pulls him, hoping for a ride. Masao smiles and starts to follow but then stops. His eyes dead pan on Natsuno and he looks away. _Oh boy, here we go._ He and Tamo-Chan start to argue, and Masao yells at Tamotsu about how he can ride with us himself if he likes, then turns and runs off. Tamo-Chan, being every bit as great a guy as his brother, shrugs at us, then chases after Masao.

"WHAT was that all about?" Ritsu-Chan asks.

I can't help but chuckle. "For some reason, Masao really hates Natsuno. Although, I don't think Natsuno cares either way, right?" _I mean, it's not like Masao's the guy Natsuno likes, right?_ After all, Masao dislikes Natsuno as much as, if not more than Megumi-Chan disliked me, and Natsuno wouldn't give Masao the time of day. Natsuno suddenly reaches over the back of the seat and slams his fist against the top f my head. "Ouch! Natsuno, what the hell!?"

"No, I don't give a damn what he thinks," he growls, "And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me by my first name! I'm not looking to make friends."

Frowning, I look back at him. "Could you at least HUMOR your parents while you are here and stop making everything so difficult for them and yourself by pushing others away?"

"Natsuno, please, don't hit the driver, it's dangerous," Ritsu-Chan sighs, "And you, Tohru, eyes back on the road! If I have to tell you again, I'm going to make you pull over, and I'll drive the rest of the way!"

"Yes ma'am," we both answer, like a couple of scolded children.

I drop Natsuno off at school. Ritsu-Chan and I drive around a bit more, stopping off at Kaname's for lunch, before returning to the school to pick him back up. He climbs back into the seat and I start to drive away.

"Ne, Natsuno, I've got to take Ritsu-Chan home first, if that's alright?" I inform him.

"But, then you won't have a supervisor in the car."

"Yeah, I know," I flinch, "But, we'll be passing her house on the way anyway."

"Yeah, ok."

Natsuno keeps dozing in the back seat. I decide to leave him alone and get his rest. I pull up to the Kunihiro household and drop Ritsu-Chan and Tarou off. "Oi, Natsuno, you asleep back there?" I ask.

"Still wide awake," he replies.

"You wanna' move up front? You can lean the chair back if you need to." I wait, but don't receive an answer right away. "Natsuno?" I check just in case he's dozed off again.

"Yeah, ok, sounds good," he answers, getting out of the back. He stops long enough to scratch behind Tarou's ears. The dog always gets excitable when he's around Natsuno. Once he's settled into the front seat, we say our goodbyes and Ritsu-Chan goes inside. I wait until she's safely inside, **"Like any gentleman would,"** as my father always told me, before driving away.

"So, do you want me to take you home?" I ask.

Natsuno leans back on the seat and shakes his head. "No, you don't need to be on the road any longer than necessary without a licenced driver, just to be safe, and that's out of your way. Let's just go back to your place. I'll walk from there, it's no big deal. It's cooler now anyway."

"WALK? In the dark?"

"I guess you have a point," he sighs. "Just go back to your house, and I'll call my dad to come pick me up from there."

"OR," I suggest, "I can ask Mom and Dad if it's alright for you to stay the night?"

"Dude! How many times do I gotta' repeat myself?" he starts.

"You're not looking to make friends?" I interrupt. "Why? Do you think that'll make going back to the city easier? Besides, for as much as you keep saying that, you haven't exactly gone out of your way to prove it."

I hear an audible click of the tongue. "Yeah," he admits, propping his elbow on the side of the car and pressing his cheek against his knuckles. "If I make friends or get into a relationship with someone, then, I'll have something here holding me back, making it harder to leave. It's better if I just push everyone away, that way I won't have anyone to miss, and there'll be no one to miss me either."

"Your parents would miss you."

"That's different," he argues, "They're my parents, they'd miss me even if we'd stayed in the city and I moved into a college dorm somewhere."

I frown. " _ **I'd miss you,**_ " I mumble. I guess he nodded off and didn't hear that part, because he didn't give a reaction. "Is that how it is in the big city?" I ask a bit louder, and rather disappointedly.

"Huh?" he jerks awake and looks at me.

"So many people out there they just forget about you over time after you move away, no matter how close you are?" I ask. "It's not like that, here in Sotoba. Sure, there's a lot of people, and the elderly and those who don't see you every day may forget you when you're gone. But those of us who see you on a day to day basis, we'll never forget you. It's rare, but not unheard of for people to move away from here. I remember a lot of classmates who've left over the years."

"Yeah, but you're friends with everybody," he counter points. "I think Megumi-Chan was the only exception."

I come to a complete stop at the stop sign and tighten my grip on the steering wheel. _Does he actually see me as a friend or not?_ "True. But you want to know something? I sort of hate to admit it, but..." I turn in the seat so that I'm facing him. "Like you said, I'm friends with everybody. My mother's teased me my whole life about how I've never met a stranger before. But as far as best friends go..." I stop and think. I try hard to remember. I'm an extrovert, I HAVE to have human interaction when I'm not at home just to make it through the day. So, yeah, I don't see people as strangers. _But, have I ever really had a friend I felt as close to as I do with Natsuno?_ I shake my head. "No, I'm sure of it. Until you came along, there isn't the first person I've ever called my best friend."

His face turns a light shade of pink and he quickly looks away. "I don't know why you'd choose me for that," he mumbles. I see the blush and attempt to hold back a giggle, curling a hand under my mouth. If he looked, he'd see I was smiling one of my mischievous Cheshire Cat grins from ear to ear. Momentarily, he glances back over at me and gives a weak smile. "Alright," he agrees, "I don't guess it'll hurt to ask your folks."

I turn on the radio and we spend most of the drive sitting quietly, until I decide to check the rear-view mirror. "Uh-oh...?"

Natsuno had started to doze off again, but this shook him awake. "What's wrong?"

I points at the mirror. "There's an officer behind us."

"His lights and siren aren't on," Natsuno says, taking a look. "They don't know who's driving this car do they?"

I shakes my head, nervously. "No, but." _God, now what?_ I grip the steering wheel tighter. I try to remain calm. So far the only thing I'm doing wrong is driving without a licensed supervisor. I don't want to get pulled over and written a ticket before I even get my license.

"Then they don't know you're a student driver driving without a licenced supervisor in the dark on roads running through the mountains," Natsuno says, driving home the point he should have realized before dropping Ritsu-Chan off in the first place, the point I'm already realizing now. I flinch and he smiles. "Just relax man." He could sense my apprehension. I feel a hand gently squeeze my knee, as if trying to reassure me.

"Huh?" I give him a quick blinking glance.

He simply smiles. It's one of his natural smiles, too. "Just act natural. Don't speed up, don't slow down. Obey the signs and play it cool. Right now he's just behind us by coincidence. So, just drive like you would if Ritsu-Chan were still sitting here instead of me," ge advises. I swallow a gulp of air and nod. "Just keep any fantasies you have about what you'd do with her if this thing ran out of gas to yourself!" he teases.

I sull up a little and blush. "Very funny!" I retort. _Pervet._

We drive a little further, and the cop turns onto another road. I heave a sigh, releasing every bit of breath I'd been holding since I first saw the patrol car in the mirror. "See?" he says, playfully nudging me, "I told you there's nothing to worry about."

We arrive home, and, of course, the whole family is keen on the idea of letting him stay the night. Forgetting to call his folks, I drag him up to my room. We each take our usual spots.

"Ne, Natsuno, I've got some two player games, if you're interested. C'mon, we can play a couple of fighting games," I encourage.

"No thanks, man," he says, "I'm not really very good at that kind of thing."

"Awe, c'mon, please?" I ask again,giving him a wide-eyed sad puppy dog face.

He sighs and closes his eyes. "Alright, he agrees," I suppose I can for a little while."

Either he's really not as good at them as he says, or I'm better than I thought, because I end up winning every match. But then, I guess I DO have an unfair advantage, given his insomnia. Finally, I take pity on his loosing streak and pop in a two player co-op game. After loosing all his lives, the third time in a row, he puts down the controller, returning to the magazine he'd originally picked up before I convinced him to join me. "Sorry, Tohru-Chan, I'm done!" he says.

"Awe," I sigh, "Well, ok. Thanks for playing with me anyway. It was fun."

"Yeah it was," he mumbles under his breath. I smile, he probably doesn't even realize I heard him say that.

It's dark outside now, but still not very late in the evening. Maybe 7:30? I goe back to my one player games. Natsuno returns to the magazine. Suddenly the door bursts open. The uninvited person intruding on my inner sanctum is yelling at the top of his lungs. I close my eyes and sigh. _Seriously, Masao? This is one of the few places I can appreciate and enjoy peace and quiet, MUST you disturb it like this?_

"Tohru-Chan, have you heard? Madam Nao of the contractor firm has..." He sees Natsuno sitting on the bed and falls dead silent.

"Yo, Masao, what's up?" I ask, forcing my gaze up at him. There's already a thick tension oozing through the air now that Masao's seen Natsuno. "What about Madam Nao?" I ask, reminding him why he came. _Really? Do you hate Natsuno so much that you loose your complete train of thought the moment you see him?_

"Oh, right! She's passed away." Masao says

"What!?" I nearly drop the controller and I know my jaw dropped a bit. _I swear I saw her in town not three days ago, and she seemed fine!_ My hands shake a little. "She's not that old, though, is she? Are you sure it was her?"

"I saw the funeral procession earlier this afternoon," Masao states, "It's definitely her!" He starts off on some tangent about death being exciting, and how it could be any one of us next wrapping his arms around himself. _Just keep digging deeper into that creepy kid stereotype, Masao, I never thought you were THAT morbid._ "Maybe there's some kind of strange disease spreading through the village. Alot of people have been dying lately, and not just the old farts. Megumi-Chan's dead too..." His eyes widen for a second. I swear the whole room just got ten degrees colder at the mere mention of Megumi-Chan's name. This is easily attributed to Natsuno's psychological unease in regards to the girl, along with Masao's unbridled attraction to her, the two younger boy's disdain toward one another, and me stuck in the middle. Something starts between them, I'd be risking my friendship with one or both of them if I stepped in and tried to quell it. "Speaking of Megumi-Chan..." Masao hisses. His voice at this moment makes my skin crawl. "Natsuno, you're rather cold-hearted, aren't you?" _Oh, bloody Hell, he's gone and called Natsuno by name...!_ "You rejected something Megumi-Chan left behind for you, didn't you?"

"Eh?" I blink, almost dropping the controller again. Wide eyed, I turn to look at Natsuno. "Natsuno, is that true?"

Natsuno doesn't answer, he simply glares at Masao. "You have no consideration whatsoever or maybe you just lack emotions?" the former chides the prior, "How worrying. Normally, when someone so young dies, nobody would reject something the poor child left behind, right?"

Masao inches his way towards Natsuno, who simply tries to look away. "Leave him alone, Masao!" I try to interject, but I don't think either of them can hear me at the moment. I sigh, and try to go back to my game. My concentration on it won't be precise, but as long as these two don't escalate into anything physical, maybe it's best I stay out of it. Natsuno has enough self control not to resort to that while here, at least not unless he has to defend himself. Masao, however, I don't know. I've seen him get this irritable and worse before. He's been known to throw things and kick stuff when mad enough. I've never been one to blindly believe the rumors without getting the facts straight from the person themselves, but... There is a rumor that Masao beats and abuses his nephew, Hiromi, but that the boy makes up lies and stories to cover for him. I don't want to believe it, but when I see his temper flare up to this level, sometimes it makes me wonder.

"So what if she was young or old, or whatever?" Natsuno asks. "Like you said, for all we know, we could also be dead tomorrow."

"We can't die just like that!" Masao exclaims.

"Really? It's just a matter of probabilities."

Masao's voice is full of venom, "But what if you died tomorrow, huh?"

"I believe you should live your life in a way that assures you have no regrets in death," and Natsuno's as cool as a cucumber. Yeah, my concentration is totally broken. They would choose to argue while I'm tackling an already difficult obstacle wouldn't they?

"Then if people disrespected your death, you'd be happy about it!?" _Honestly, can Mom and Dad NOT hear Masao shrieking at the top of his lungs?_ I'm surprised nobody's come up to see what's going on.

"Whether I'm fine with it or not, I wouldn't know. What would I care? The funeral's for them, not for me. All that's left is to become part of the wilderness. Dust to dust," Natsuno tries to reason.

"No way!" Masao yells, "Poor Megumi-Chan! How can you disrespect her like that? How can you just ignore her final wishes? She must be crying in her grave now! She might grow to hate you so much she'll come back and haunt you!"

I pause the game. Masao doesn't know it, but now he's gone too far! "OH GROW THE HELL UP!" Natsuno scolds him. "That's SO unoriginal! There's no golden castles in the sky, no coming back from the grave, no such things as ghosts. Once you're dead, you're dead! That's all there is to it!" Natsuno's father's words, though I'm not quite sure they're his own. His parents 'shelter' him from fairy-tales, religion, and horror stories, simply because they don't believe in them themselves, they've spent his whole life trying to dissuade him from them too. "Besides, I think the only reason you're all hung up on this issue is because she didn't leave it behind for you. Who the hell told you about that anyway?"

Masoa gives another hisse and lunges at him. "No, no, NO! You move here and start giving me this kind of shit!?" _Oh no you don't!_ I leap to my feet and catch hold of Masao from behind. _I'll be damned if I sit back and let him lay a finger on Natsuno over something like this._ I'm bigger and stronger than Masao, but at the moment, all of Masao's rage is giving even me a struggle trying to hold him back. I receive a few stray kicks and punches from flailing arms and legs. At one point, I think one of his nails even scratches across my cheek. "You're just an outsider! What do you know?"

"Masao, that's enough!" I scold.

"What!? Tohru-Chan, why are you on his side? You know I'm right. You liked Megumi-Chan, too, didn't you? He's the one at fault!" Masao insists.

I close my eyes and sigh. I've had enough of this. "She and I weren't close," I remind him. "I understand how you feel, and I'm sorry. But Natsuno has his reasons." I sigh and look past Masao at Natsuno. Natsuno's eyes are begging me not to give him away. I give him a reassuring smile. _I won't give Masao any kind of gossip fuel to use against you._ "He didn't like her the same way she liked him. He's got someone waiting for him back in the city. He does appear cold hearted, yes. But he speaks well and he's remained completely calm and impartial, hasn't he?"

Masao wrenches himself free and pushes me back. A look of hurt and betrayal sweeps across Masoa's face. "You ARE taking his side," he accuses. "I'M GOING HOME!" With that, he storms out of the room.

"I appreciate you not telling him the truth," Natsuno says, slumping against the wall, "But you didn't have to lie with that bit about someone waiting for me back in the city, you know?"

I fall silent, staring at my doorway for a while. I feel an ache in my chest. Did I make the right choice? Masao may never forgive me for that. He and I have been friends for years, he and Tamotsu-Chan have been best friends since before they started school. I'm sure our friendship just took a major hit, if I didn't outright kill it all in one go. I force a nervous smile on my face and turn back to Natsuno. "Natsuno, you're younger than him, but you've got a quicker wit. You could have been a little nicer. And when were you going to tell me you turned down something of Megu... Huh!?" He's nodding off. "Hey!? I'm talking to you." I tower over him, hands on my hips.

Natsuno leans back against the wall and force himself to stay awake. "Sorry. I didn't mean to loose it like that. But... Shimizu... He just struck a cord with me that I couldn't help reacting to."

I sigh and ruffle a hand through his hair. "You wanna' talk about it?"

"Not really." He staggers in attempt to stay up, and half consciously mumbles, " _ **Never thought it was a big deal.**_ "

"Natsuno? Are you sure you're ok?"

He nods. "Yeah, I'm fine." He starts to nod off again. "Damn, I totally forgot to call my folks to tell 'em I'm staying over tonight." He's too tired to even make the effort to get up and call. Instead, he topples over on the bed and pass out cold.

"Hey, that's my bed!" I sigh, he's out like a light. At least I know he feels safe enough here to sleep. I click my tongue and walk over to the bed, pulling the covers up over him. "At least pull the covers up, silly. There's a summer flu going around, you know." I tuck him in, then sit on the edge of the bed. Smiling, I ruffle a hand through his hair, before rubbing his back in gentle, calming circles. All the malice that came into the room with Masoa has left. It's just as pleasant as it was before. Natsuno falls into a deep sleep, which nothing seems to be able to wake him from.

I smile and brush a stray stand of indigo colored hair out of his face. Maybe it's the big brother side of me that draws me to him and makes me want to keep him safe. Had Masao actually struck him, I don't know what I would have done. I'm sure I'm going to have a few bruises in the morning. I stay with him for a few minutes before deciding to go outside and get something to drink. As I stand up, he opens his eyes. "Sorry did I wake you?" I ask quietly. He shakes his head. I think he's still just barely conscious. "I'll be right back," I assure him, "I'm going down for a drink." He smiles, gives a quiet nod, and closes his eyes again. _Poor guy._ I start down the stairs. _Is there something at his house that's keeping him awake, or has this whole thing with Megumi really stressed him out to that point? It's nearly been a year since they moved here, and it was nearly three months before he and I started hanging out and he confided in me. That's a long time to be dealing with so much stress at his age._

I let Mom know where I'm going and run out to the drink machine across the road. It's rather dark for just barely after eight o'clock. Kind of spooky, too. There doesn't even seem to be anyone out on the streets. I stop and look around as I did into my pocket for my yen pieces. It's so quiet. Was there a curfew set in place I didn't know about? I pull my coins from my pocket. "Awe man, come on!" I sigh in protest as one drops to the ground and rolls under the machine. "Oh, give me a break." I get down on my hands and knees and look under the machine. _Ah! I see it!_ I push my hand under the machine. _Now... If only... I could... Just... Reach...!_ My fingertip brushes the egde and it slides backward, further out of my grasp. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?"

"What seems to be the problem?" an unfamiliar voice ask. _Wha...?_ I look up. _Where did this guy come from?_ He's in a purple zipup shirt that at first glance makes me think of a mechanic's suit. His hair is blue green and spiked on the sides where it looks like Kitsune ears. It's too dark to make out his eyes. He smiles at me. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you," he chuckles. "I'm new around here. My name's Tatsumi."

"Oh, you're one of the people from Kanemasa, right? Pleased to meet you." All through grade school, at least once a year, they try to teach kids the importance of understanding Stranger Danger. Yet, even with all those lessons, living in Sotoba, that's a concept that never properly clicked into my mind. Even now, it's just as I told Natsuno, I've never known anyone to be a stranger, just another new neighbor.

"Yeah, that's right," Tatsumi-Kun says with a smile, leaning against the machine. "... What are you doing down there?"

"I dropped my 100-yen coin under the machine," I sigh, "It's just barely out of my reach.

"Wow, that sucks," he says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a back scratcher. "I always carry one of these for just such an occassion."

"Huh?"

He smiles and winks at me. Bending down, he slides the backscratcher under the machine, just past the coin. He lowers the backscratcher and uses it to pull the coin out from under the machine. He smiles as he hands it to me. "Here ya' go."

"Wow, that's ingenious! Thanks, I owe ya'." I say. This guy doesn't look much older than us, and his clothes suggest he's from the city. From what I can make out of him, Natsuno might even find him attractive if they met. _Wow, it really does feel weird trying to imagine what kind of guy he'd be attracted to. I'm kinda glad he spared me those kinds of details. I force myself back to the current conversation._ "My name's Mutou." I point at my house. "I live over there, why don't you come hang out sometime?"

His face lights up. "Sure!" He waves the backscratcher back and forth in front of my face. "Mind if I bring a friend?"

 _Tthhe backscratcher...?_ I raise an eyebrow, hoping that wasn't what he meant, or that he meant it as a joke, but I wasn't aware the people from Kanemasa had made too many friends yet. I smile, maybe he means someone else from the mansion. "Sure, no problem."

"Well then," he smiles. A sudden chill runs down my spine as I get the feeling I'm being watched from somewhere. The side of his face closest to the machine looks normal in it's glow, but the darkness played some kind of trick with the other side. Sunken into the shadows and hallow like a skull, it almost reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera. This beat Masao's creepiest moments on all kinds of different levels. "I'll be by to visit soon, then."

"Heh, yeah, great," I say, hoping he doesn't notice my sudden apprehension. I buy my drink and head back home. "It was nice meeting you. See you around." I try to remain calm, tell myself it was just a trick of the light. I try not to be obvious as I glance back over my shoulder. I put my hand on the door knob and freeze, staring wide eyed at the machine. Just as quick as he'd been there, he's already gone again, but it still feels like I'm being watched. _What the Hell? My perception must be way off tonight. Ever get that feeling you just did something incredibly freaking stupid? Yeah..._ I take a deep breath and go inside, locking the door behind me. I feel more at ease once I step inside. I shake off that uneasy feeling and pop open my drink. I stop long enough to call Yuuki-Kun and Koide-San to let them know Natsuno's staying over for the night, then I go back upstairs. I take a sip as I push open the door to my room.

Natsuno's tossing and turning in the bed when I come back up. It's like he's in a nightmare. "Natsuno!?" I exclaim, hastily setting my drink down and rushing to the bedside.

My eyes widen as he utters two names in his sleep. The first in fear, " _ **Shimizu**_ " the next as a plead for help, " _ **Tohru-Chan.**_ " It's like a knife cutting me to the quick.

I give him a gentle shake. "Natsuno?" I call his name, "Hey, Natsuno, wake up?" He lets out a quiet moan, but doesn't wake up. ""Hey, it's ok, buddy, calm down, I'm here!" I say, gently. "Come on, wake up?" He doesn't wake up, but he does calm down. After a moment, he becomes still and quiet. I heave a sigh and slump onto the side of the bed. _Is this what he's been going through every night? It's no wonder he's not sleeping well at home. Damn it all, Masao, your little hissy fit tonight could have brought this on, too. You're older and he's still just a kid, you could stand to be a bit nicer yourself, you know!_

I stay in the floor, next to the bed, gently stroking a hand through Natsuno's hair. A calm washes over him. He looks so cute and peaceful like this. He'd probably die or kill me or both, if he woke up and saw me coddling him like a child like this, though. That thought gives me a chuckle. I stay at the bedside, sitting in the floor, my arms resting on the bed, my head resting on top of them, watching over him until I fall asleep.

"Hey?" Natsuno says groggily, gently poking me.

"Hmmn...?" I moan, slowly blinking my eyes open. I think this is the first time he's ever woke up before me.

"Why didn't you move me and take your bed back?"

"You're too heavy to move," I tease, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. _When you were behaving like that, I'd rather let you sleep than move you._

"What!?" It's adorable, but he's clearly trying not to blush.

I can't help but laugh. "Calm, down, Natsuno, I'm teasing. You said you'd been having trouble sleeping again. You just looked so comfortable, I didn't want to disturb you." I prop my head up on my elbow. I avoid bringing up the nightmare. If he wants to talk about it, he's welcome to, but if he doesn't remember it, I don't want to bring on further undo stress. "So, you can't sleep at your house? You wanna' talk about it? You know you can tell me anything, man."

He stops and seems to consider it for a moment. "No, man," I sigh, "It's nothing. Hey, did you ever call my folks?" I nod. "Thanks."

"No problem, man," I say with a smile. "There really wasn't any need to, though."

"Huh?"

My smile grows. "Koide-San told me she and Yuuki-Kun always assume you're over here when you don't come straight home, and that there's a good chance you'll stay the night if so."

"I see," he grumbles as he gets up. It was more of an 'I'm still half asleep grumble' than an angry one.

"Huh? Hey, where ya' goin'? You're not heading home just yet, are you?" I ask.

"No, not yet," he answers, Just headed for the bathroom. I don't have anything planned for today, so I can hang around for a little while."

I'm fixing my bed when he comes back. "Hey, you know those people who recently moved into Kanemasa?"

"Yeah, what about them?" he yawns. He stops and sighs. "Oh, come on now, don't tell me you're going to tell me some kind of 'juicy gossip' you heard about them? Tohru-Chan, I thought you were better than that."

"No, nothing like that!" I assure him. "Actually, I met one of them last night."

"Really?"

I nod and plops down on the bed, rubbing my neck. I decide that after what I saw him going through last night, I'm going to leave out the creepier stuff. I'm sure it was all just a trick of my imagination inflicted by the contrast in dark and light ratios. "Yeah, he was nice, but seemed a little weird. Maybe it's just the clothes he was wearing. They sort of looked like they may be big city fashion. The way he had his hair styled, it almost reminded me of Kitsune ears." I put my fingers above my head on either side to give him an idea.

"And you're telling me all this why?" he asks.

"I invited him over to visit sometime," I announce, propping back on my arms and crossing his legs. "I thought about it after I came back inside, if he's from the big city, like you are, maybe you'd like to meet him?"

"You're not trying to play match maker are you?" he ask with an accusingly raised eyebrow.

"No!" I laugh, "Not unless you want me to?" One look at my face and I know the answer to that question is a flat out 'No'. I laugh. "Relax, Natsuno. I just thought maybe the two of you might find you have something in common and maybe you'd enjoy having someone else from the city you could talk to."

"Alright, if he ever comes by, give me a call," I he says.

I promise him that. I manage to talk him into a few more two player games. He's doing a lot better this time around. "Hey, Natsuno, I know you've been having trouble sleeping at home," I tell him, "If you need to come over here every now and then to do it, I don't mind. I'll look into getting you a pallet to sleep on."

"Sure, sounds good, Tohru-Chan," Natsuno says, half paying attention to me as he struggles to keep his character from dying. "Thanks."

I smile. "Don't mention it buddy!"

Natsuno stays until an hour or so after lunch before he heads home. He never mentioned the nightmare. I don't think he even remembered it.


	5. Chapter 5

It's several days before I hear from him. Finally, one day, Natsuno's parents call and ask if he's come over to visit. Apparently, he'd left the house before they were up, and had been gone all day long. It's unlike him to leave without a word that early, even if he was trying to just be early for the bus. I tell them I haven't seen him, but I'll let them know if I do.

Worried, I go out and look for him. It's late and getting dark when I do find him. He's slumped against the post for the bus stop sign and hanging his head. He didn't get any sleep again last night, did he? He looks like he's about to pass out standing up!

"Oii! Natsuno!" I run up to him. "Natsuno?" He doesn't respond. I wrap my arms wrap around him. No reaction, no scolding me for calling his name, no hitting or pushing me away from being too clingy. Lately, he hasn't been trying to push me away as much, granted, but I'm not getting anything out of him. _Oh, please don't tell me he's sick? Please let it be another bout of insomnia._ "Hey? Are you ok?" I ask, "You don't look so good."

He presses his forehead against my shoulder. "I haven't been sleeping very well again. Can I stay the night at your place tonight?" _Why does it feel like he's about to cry?_

 _Oh thank God, that's all it is!_ I smile and nod. "Sure, buddy," I say, wrapping my arm around him. "Here, lean on me. Your leg's not bothering you, too is it?"

"Tohru-Chan," he sighs, "I'm just tired, ok? Don't go making such a big fuss."

I sigh and nod. "Ok, sure. C'mon. Just don't fall asleep until we get back to my place, ok? I don't mind letting you lean on me for support, but I don't want to drag you!"

Natsuno gives a chuckle and nods. "Yeah, yeah," he says.

"I'm glad I found you. I was worried when your parents called. But, now that I know you're ok, there's something I wanna' ask you later after you've had a chance to rest." I talk the whole way back to my house, most of his replies are just groggy little grunts and groans. I don't know if he's actually paying attention, but at least I know he's still awake.

We get back home and I carry him upstairs. I set him on the bed bed, propped against the wall, then go call his folks. When I come back, I take my usual spot in front of the game console. I decide to leave him to his own devices for a while, as he passes in and out of consciousness, just enough to let him get in some rest.

"Hey, Natsuno," I finally decide to start talking. "I know you desperately want to get out of the village, but if you keep loosing sleep from studying for the entrance exams, you're going to ruin your health." I'm legitimately concerned. Megumi-Chan's gone. If not nightmares, then the only other thing keeping him up would be his excessive studying.

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me by my name?" I smile when he says that, now that sounds like the Natsuno I know. "Besides, it's not that I'm staying up all night studying. I just... Can't sleep."

"I'd ask you to talk about it. But, I know you're not going to," I lament.

"Yeah," he says. "Not really in the mood to talk about it, right now at least."

"Alright," I relent. "Say, Natsuno...?" I was hesitant to speak this time. As I'd mentioned earlier, I had something I wanted to talk to him about. "I have a favor to ask."

"That's rare," I hear movement behind me as he seems to wake up and sit up right, "You sure I'm the guy you wanna' ask?"

 _Well, I can't exactly ask Masao for this, and I trust you better. If you agree to it, I know you won't flake out on me._ "Well... It's Ritsu-Chan..." I say after a moment's hesitation. "I... I want to ask her out for a weekend drive. But, I don't have the courage to ask. Can you come with me when I invite her?"

"But, you were just driving with her the other day?"

"That's different," I explain, "That was as student and teacher. But..." I swallow a gulp of air and say this next part nervously, "I want to ask her... like a date."

"Hey, wait. WAIT? In the first place, as young as she looks, she's still older than us, isn't she? I mean, not that I'm saying anything about your interests or whatever, but... And besides. Tohru-Chan, I'm sorry, I think she likes someone else." I slump. _Someone else? Who? Does he really think I don't have a chance with her? There's no way he's jealous?_ I let out a depressed sigh. "Alright, alright!" he sighs, "I'll come with you."

I pause my game. "REALLY!?" I turn toward him. Without thinking, I lunge in for one of my trademark pouncing bear hugs. "THANK YOU. When you say you'll do it, I know you'll keep you're word."

"Woah!" Natsuno exclaims as I face plant into his foot. _OUCH!_ "I'll do it alright, just knock it off with the fake physical affection!" For the first time in a long while, he frowns at me. His eyes are clouded by sleep, but I almost swear I see a hint of hurt behind them, too. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "I'm really tired," he groans, flopping over on the bed, "I'm going to bed."

"Hey, wait!" I exclaim, "I've got a pallet for you tonight, so please don't fall asleep on my bed again." He slowly opens his eyes. "It'll only take a moment to set up," I promise. He closes his eyes and struggles to sit up right. I sigh. He's flopping around like a fish, just trying to sit up, I can't force him to help me lay down the pallet. "Seriously, man, how long has it been since you've gotten any sleep?" I rub the back of my neck.

"Week ago," he says tiredly, I'm not even sure he's aware he said it, "When I was here last."

 _Damn, that long!?_ "Here, you can stay there while I lay it out for you, I guess." I go to the closet and pull out a rolled up Tatami mat, complete with pillows and blankets and lay it out on the floor. "There we go! Now you can sleep over anytime you like."

We swap places and Natsuno's out like a light. Laying on his back, hands pressed together almost as if in prayer. He looks even more peaceful now than he did before. _Sleep well, Natsuno. I'm here by your side if you need me._ I slowly drift off to sleep myself. Once I'm asleep, I don't know what happens after that, to be honest. I felt something like a bug bite on my arm, but it wasn't enough to fully wake me up. The next thing I know, I hear Natsuno calling to me. "Tohru-Chan? Tohru-Chan! Hey? Can you hear me? Are you ok?" He shakes me a little as he calls out my name. He sounds frantic.

I open my eyes and looks up at him. "N-Natsuno? What's wrong?"

He sighs and drops to his knees. " _ **It was just a bad dream,**_ " I hear him mumble. He shakes his head.

I sit up right. I can't help worrying about him. "Hey, are you ok?"

"This is ridiculous!" he scolds himself. "I'm going back to sleep. Good night!"

I stare at him in silence for a moment. "Yeah... Good night," I say, my voice muddled in a combination of sleep and confusion. I kneel down next to him and brush a hand through his hair. No reaction, he's out cold. I don't know why I'm feeling so sluggish myself. _Was it another nightmare?_ I drag myself back into bed and sleep for a bit longer myself. However, I spend the entire day feeling weak and tired. I don't go to school the following day, I'm more energetic, but still feel like crap. Maybe I caught a cold?

Two days later, I'm feeling a bit better, so I call him at home. "Hey, are you sleeping any better?"

"Not really," he answers. "You doin' alright? I haven't seen you at school lately."

"I'm good," I assure him, "I've just been feeling under the weather. I just wanted to check in on you. You left in kind of a hurry the other day, after you woke up. That must have been some nightmare."

"Something like that..." he says. There's a moment of silence before he continues, "Say, let me ask you something. Why does heartbreak have to hurt?"

My heart's been sluggish due to whatever this is, but those words make it give one good quick painful throb. "Because the heart's the most viatl organ in keeping someone alive," I answer. "What's the matter, buddy, did the guy you like find out and turn you down?" I almost want to cry for him.

"No. But, I think he has a girlfriend. I think that's what brought on the nightmare. That, with all the stress I've been putting on myself."

Now I really do want to cry. "Aw, jeez, Natsuno, I'm sorry to hear that, man! But, you know, the beauty of a broken heart is that it has a chance to mend, right? If you need me, just call."

"Yeah," he sighs, "Thanks. Anyway, I've got homework to finish, I'll see you when you come back to school, alright? Get better soon."

"Right," I reply with a weak chuckle, "See you later."

* * *

Night of the third day. I'm weaker now than I was yesterday. I'm sitting on the bed, looking out my window. I'm waiting... For HER. _**Tap, tap, tap.**_ A wisp of pink flashes across my window, and there's a girlish giggle. She didn't come on the second night. She only has tonight and tomorrow to finish her mission. _ **Tap, tap, tap.**_ "Toohruuu," she calls seductively, her voice sweet and full of honey. "It's me, silly, open up!"

My mind and body are working against each other. A part of me knows not to open the window, but I'm compelled to do so. Even so, I can barely move my arm up to grab the window frame. Masao and Natsuno would both kill over if they saw her sitting on my window sill, those long pink pigtails, that soft pale skin, those red painted lips, those black eyes with the red shining orbs, sill of the top story window. She shouldn't even be here, and yet, there she is, beckoning me to open the window for her.

I manage to open the window. "Come in," I say mindlessly. "I missed you last night, Megumi-Chan."

She giggles as she slips inside. "I had a prior engagement last night," she said. She leapt off my bed, her feet as quiet as a cat as she landed on the floor and padded across the room to lock the door. She turns and comes back to the bed. "Besides, I had to give you a chance to say goodbye to Yuuki-Kun," she said the laughter never leaving her voice. She frowns and her voice turns sour. "You know, Tohru, you are kind of cute, it's a shame I never could stand you." She catches me under my chin and smiles. "I'm taking you from him, Tohru. If I can't have him, no one will."

 _What? No? Why? Why is she doing this? Why am I powerless to fight back?_ I know I need to, but my body's too weak to do so, and even if it weren't, I can't will myself to pull away from her. _What the hell's going on?_ "M-e-gu-mi...?" I manage to call her name.

She giggles. "Frightened and confused?" she asks, "Good. I made sure to hypnotize you just enough to prevent you from fighting my commands or me, but left just enough of your mind for you to know what's happening." She pouts. "I didn't want you to die like a normal victim, Tohru," she says coldly, "I never liked you! You're always acting so friendly towards everyone, but it's all fake!"

 _What is she talking about? No it's not! Is that how she's perceived me all these years?_

"Always have to be the center of attention, don't you?" she accuses.

 _No... That would be Masoa, not me._

"Then you steal MY Yuuki-Kun's attention," she hisses. My eyes begin to tear over. She's even made it where I can't argue with her, any attempt to do so just comes out as unintelligeable gurgles. She smiles. "Tell me, Tohru, do you have any regrets?" I start to open my moth. "Never mind, I don't really care," she tiffs. "Go ahead and cry. Your blood will taste better if you're scared." She presses a finger to her chin, just below her lips, as she licks them. With a giggle, she twirls a few strands of hair around a finger on her other hand. "Not like you'll remember any of this tomorrow morning." She leaps into my lap, catching both my wrists in her hands and forcing my back against the wall. With a devilish grin, she ghosts her lips over my own. Her black eyes lock with mine and she relinquishes enough of her hold over me to allow me to squirm. She's the spider and I'm the helpless fly caught in her web. She's toying with me like a cat with a mouse. Squirm as I might, I'm too weak to get away. She giggles once more as the tears begin to roll down my cheeks. "I'm going to enjoy this." She pins my left arm against the wall, revealing the two pin holes I'd initially thought to be bug bites.

Opening her mouth, she exposes a pair of long ivory white fangs. She leans in toward the bite marks, as if she's about to bite me. I try to scream in fear, or call for help, but my voice still doesn't work. Megumi-Chan is anything but gentle.

"Hey, Shimizu-San, check this out," a voice says coming from the window.

We both look over to the source of this new voice. It's the guy I met at the drink machine, sitting in the window, his feet are dangling over onto my bed. Megumi-Chan looks up with an irritable hiss. "What is it, Tatsumi-Kun!? You're interrupting my meal."

He chuckles at her and holds up a small stuffed animal. A stuffed bear, half the size of a pillow, she's honey brown with black button eyes and a pink button nose, holding a sunflower in her hands. I make a feeble, failed attempt to squirm free of Megumi and snatch the bear away, my face flushing red. Mom bought that bear for me just before the twins were born. It was to help me sleep when I had nightmares, and Mom chose it because she said the colors and sunflower reminded her of my hair and eyes and my friendly disposition. THIS had been what I'd been rushing up to hide all those times when Natsuno came over to visit. I was always worried he'd belittle me for it.

Tatsumi-Kun holds the bear out of reach and Megumi-Chan wrestles me down. I'm not sure if it was intentional, or just a result of the struggle, but I fall limp when her knee connects with my crotch. Megumi-Chan blinks and covers her mouth. Is she actually blushing? Tatsumi-Kun looks unphased. He simply smiles, dangling the bear above my head. "This guy still sleeps with stuffed animals," he chuckles.

"Dear God, Muotu," Megumi-Chan scoffs, "You're a guy, and eighteen for crying out loud! Still sleeping with stuffed animals?" She snatches the bear from Tatsumi-Kun and throws it across the room. "You're such a child!"

She grabs my arm, forcing it behind my back. No, Megumi-Chan, please, don't do this! She opens her mouth and leans in. Again my voice isn't working as I try to scream, this time in pain as her fangs slide directly into the preexisting bite marks. She is far from gentle as she pierces my skin. I slowly loose the strength to struggle, my body growing limp and much weaker. My heart begins to pound faster and my breathing grows heavy. Before long, my eyes close and I pass out.

* * *

Morning, I wince as I open my eyes on and get a beam of sunlight in them My window's wide open, but I don't remember opening it. It's a struggle to even sit up when I hear the knock at the door. "Tohru-Niisan!" Aoi-Chan calls, "Why is your door locked!?"

"He was probably having a wet dream about Ritsuko-San last night with all that thrashing about in the sheets I heard," I hear Tamotsu-Chan comment.

"EEEeewwww...!" I hear Aoi-Chan reply. I can only imagine her jerking her hands away from the door knob and balling them under her chin in that moment.

"Oi, are you comin' to school today or not?" Tamotsu-Chan asks.

 _Yeah, I have to try to make it today._ I force myself to sit up and throw my legs over the side of the bed. _I have to ask Natsuno if he's still going to go with me to ask Ritsu-Chan out on that drive._ I push myself into a standing position, only to stagger and fall back on the mattress. _No, damn it...!_ I try again, only to topple over into the floor this time. I heave a defeated sigh and give up. "NO, I'm staying home again," I manage to say. I look over toward my game system. _Wha...? How did Honey Bear get all the way over there? What DID I do last night?_ The only thing I remember are two cotton candy wisps of pink.

"You're gonna' get in trouble if you keep playing hooky, you know," Aoi-Chan scolds me. "If you're sick, maybe you should go to the clinic and let Ozaki-Sensei look you over."

I crawl to the game system and set the bear in my lap. I reach over and boot up the system, using the head of the bear as an arm prop while I hold the controller. Apparently, I at least still have enough strength to sit upright. "I'll go tomorrow," I reply.

"Whatever, it's your hide, not mine," she says. Mom and Dad leave for work. Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu-Chan leave for school. I spend the whole day alone in the house. They all think I'm playing hooky so I can stay home and play my new video game. They don't know the trouble I'm having standing, getting up and down the stairs to eat or go to the bathroom. There are points where it's difficult to stay awake. My chest aches. My breathing is strained and my heart is working harder due to this anemic feeling. For the first time ever, I find the silence in my room every-bit as haunting and lonely as I do in public. I wish Natsuno or Ritsu-Chan, or even Masao were here with me right now. I feel so alone. I hug Honey Bear close, at least I still have her. I leave my door wide open, that way I don't have to struggle with it when I try to leave the room.

Aoi-Chan comes upstairs when she gets home and peaks inside. "Ne, Niisan? Well, I see you've got your door open at least. Nacchan was asking about you today."

 _Natsuno did?_ "You know, if anyone but you called him that, he'd have a fit," I reply. It feels like it took forever to get that out. "Was he worried, or did he just need something?"

"Both," she answers. "He asked if you were sick, and said he had something to talk to you about. I couldn't get him to come over today, but he said he'll come over early tomorrow morning."

I smile, so Natsuno really does care. "Ok, great! I'll go to bed early tonight so I can get up when he gets here."

"Riiight, so much for that visit to Ozaki-Sensei, tomorrow, huh?" she teases.

I feel a little more energetic, knowing Natsuno's planning to come visit tomorrow. I stay up until dark, then shut off the console and head to bed. I skipped dinner, I was too weak to go down for it, and everyone else thinking I was faking it, none of them offered to bring anything up.

* * *

Not very much later, I'm sitting up right in my bed. My eyes are vacant, once more, I'm staring out my window, waiting for her. Again, my mind is being pulled in two separate directions. The side of me that knows I should fight back is powerless to do anything, while the rest is under her control. _**Tap, tap, tap.**_ _**Tap, tap, tap.**_ She's here. I struggle to open the window. She leaps through and wraps her arms around me. "No more playing today," she giggles. "You'll NEVER see Yuuki-Kun again. Her skin is cold as ice as she catches my arms in her hands. "I hope you don't have any regrets, Tohru," she cooes as she pulls my arm up and reveals the puncture wounds. "We don't want you coming back from the dead, now do we?" she giggles. Opening her mouth, she leans in and opens her mouth.

I'm able to speak this time. "Me-Megumi-Chan, wait!?" I'm desperate. If she's willing to do this to me over Natsuno, what would she do to him if she got her hands on him. "Please, Natsuno's coming tomorrow, and going with me to ask Ritsu-Chan out on a date. If... If I promise to stop talking to him after that, will you leave us alone?" I ask. I don't want to make good on that promise, but if it'll save me, or him, or both of us, it's worth a shot. He was calling for me to help him in his sleep not but two weeks ago, now. If THIS is what he was afraid of, I have to try something.

She glares at me. "NO!" she hisses. "I don't trust you any further than I can throw you. DIE, Mutou." With that, she sinks her fangs into my arm, right back into the same two puncture wounds.

I make to scream, but she forces the pillow over my face, muffling me. It's cliche', but my life really does flash before my eyes. Everything from my first memory as a child, up to just a few moments ago before I crawled into bed. It's all there in a matter of seconds, like watching a movie unfold. Closing my eyes does nothing to stop it, in fact, that only makes the images more vibrant. Tears run from my eyes, as the memories fade and the people I care about the most are displayed in my mind's eye. Mom. Dad. Aoi-Chan. Tamotsu-Chan. Masao... "Ri-tsu-Ch-an..." I call her name weakly as I feel the last bit of strength passes from my body. "N-Natsu-n..." I can't even finish calling out for him. I stop feeling the pain, my breathing stops, my heart beats it's last. Megumi leaves through the window, leaving my lifeless body for my family to find in the morning.

* * *

I don't know how much time passes. When I open my eyes, I'm alone and confused. The whole place is dark. My hands are placed together above my chest. I suddenly feel claustrophobic. Looking around, I see why. I'm encased in something wood. _Oh dear God! Is this a coffin!?_ I become frantic and start to bang on the plank of wood above my head. I try to scream, but my voice doesn't work. That's when it occurs to me, I'm not breathing. _How? How can I be alive and not be breathing? Am I dreaming? That's got to be it, this is just a fever dream, brought on by being sick, and everything else that's happened._ I pinch my hand. _Ow! No, definitely not a dream. Damn it all. Someone let me out of here._ I start banging on the piece of wood above my head again. I stop banging for a moment. I try to think, try to remember what happened before I woke up here.

The silence is starting to become unbearable. I don't know where I am. I can't remember what happened. I don't know why I'm here. I attempt to speak again, I act like I'm trying to breath, somehow that works. "Hey!?" I scream pounding on the lid again. "Someone? Anyone? Hello?" The tears start to roll down my cheeks. "Mom? Dad? Aoi-Chan? Tamo-Chan? Anyone? Can you hear me?" I hit the wood so hard it causes my knuckles to crack and bleed. To my still horrified astonishment, the wound heals instantly. I stare at my hand in amazement. _I've GOT to get out of here, I've GOT to find out what happened._ "Masao? Ritsu-Chan?"

Suddenly, I freeze. Memories come flooding back to me. I remember Megumi-Chan. I remember her holding me down and biting my arm, sucking my blood and draining my life. She... She killed me! That jealous pink haired little brat killed me! _Oh God! She did this because she was jealous of my friendship with Natsuno. What's she going to do if she gets a hold of him?_ I start banging on the top again. "Natsuno...!?"

 _Huh...!?_ I stop and listen. I can hear something above me. It sounds like a shovel against dirt. _Is that someone there? Someone who's come to save me._ "Hey!? Is someone there? Hurry and get me out, please?" I plead with them. _Oh thank God! I think I'm saved._ I stop screaming, trying to calm down.

I don't know how many moments have passed before I hear a knock. _**Knock, knock, knock, knock.**_ They stop and wait, listening for a response. My eyes are full of tears and at this point, I'm happy to hear anything. I reach up with a trembling hand. I touch my fingertips to the wood where I had been banging when I cut my hand. There are rough grooves in the wood where I'd been hitting it hard enough to crack and dent it. I close my eyes and sigh. _**Knock, knock.**_ I reply to the first set of knocks.

The wood lid above me is opened. I don't even look right away to see who it is. I pounce and hug the person. "Oh God, thank you!" I sob, "Thank you so much! I don't know what happened or why I'm here, but...!"

"Well, I see you learned how to talk quickly," a voice chuckled.

I fall dead silent, my eyes growing wide with fear. "YOU!?" I jump away from him. A feat I'm able to accomplish surprisingly fast. But I land on the edge of the grave and the freshly dug ground beneath me gives way, tossing me flat on my stomach back into the coffin. I look back up at him, wide eyed with fear.

Tatsumi-Kun stares at me for a moment, then laughs at my sudden bout of clumsiness. "Well, you picked up on how to speak pretty fast, but your mobile articulation could use some work!" He smiles and winks at me. "Don't be so scared, Tohru, I'm here to help you."

I shake my head. "No!" I exclaim, "I don't believe that! You're the one who helped her do this to me! What happened anyway? What am I a Zombie?"

Tatsumi-Kun shivers. "Don't even begin to compare us to those shambling freaks! We're Okiagari... You, my dear boy, have just joined the ranks of the Vampires."

"V...VAMPIRES!?" I exclaim, my eyes widening. "No!" I shake my head. "I'm still at home in my bed, and this is some kind of nightmarish fever dream, right? This can't be happening!"

Tatsumi-Kun sighs and reaches down into the grave, catching me by the collar of my suit, he hoist me out and up, setting me on my feet. There is no humor in the look on his face. "Don't be such a whiny little bitch about it," he growls.

"How long have I...?"

"Three days now," Tatsumi-Kun answers. "Not everyone comes back, you know." He points to another set of graves. "That's Nao's family's plot over there. She's the only one who came back. You rise up if you die with regrets or experience great suffering. Judging by the last two names Megumi-Chan said you'd called, Ritsu-Chan, and Natsuno, I can only imagine what kind of regrets you must have had." He flashes me a mischevious smirk.

"No, no, no," I say, sinking to my knees and rubbing the top of my head. "This... This just isn't right. I was always so afraid of them in the movies, but I still knew they were just made up monsters. This can't be happening."

Tatsumi-Kun blinks and rolls his eyes. "STOP with the melodramatics already, would you? I've heard it all before, time and time again, EVERY TIME a new one of you rises. It gets old after a few hundred years." He heaves a sigh, then grabs me by the wrist. "Come with me, already, would you? I'm sure you're starving." I give a tug and try to get away, but his grip oon me is tight. "There are a few rules you need to know," he starts, "First off, my Mistress Sunako has put me and my cohort Yoshie in charge of watching over and feeding all of the fledglings. Should Sunako herself ask to see you, it's as good as a death penalty."

"But I thought You couldn't kill Vamp..." I start.

"You didn't pay attention to those movies, did you?" he interrupts me, "You can't come back from decapitation, a stake through the heart WILL kill you, and being left out in the sunlight or thrown into a fire is the most painful death you could ever experience." My eyes widen learning that the movies were right. He drags me into a mausoleum and my eyes widen in horror when I see what lies inside. "Second rule, you will do whatever we tell you, to avoid being summoned by Sunako. YOU have to sleep during the day, I don't, and I'm stronger and faster, can, and will kill you," he warned. "Now feed."

"Wait...? Feed?" There's a girl, squirming and frightened tied up and gagged in the corner of the room, just a few feet away from her, a full glass of red liquid. "You don't mean...?"

"You're a Vampire now," Tatsumi-Kun says, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms. "Vampires feed on people's blood."

"WHAT? No, but... But I can't..." I protest. "And what's this about having to do what you say? You can't keep me here against my will, that's kidnapping, and what you're asking me to do right now is murder!"

Tatsumi-Kun sighs, not moved in the least. He looks bored, as if he really has gone through this very same thing before. "Always the same old spiel," he grumbles rubbing his head at the base of one of his Kitsune-Ear-Shaped Spikes of hair. "I CAN and WILL keep you here against your will. Everyone you've ever known and loves saw your body lying in a casket as it was lowered into the grave."

I freeze. Suddenly, memories I shouldn't even have come flooding back to me. I remember my wake and burial. I remember Natsuno all but practically begging for me to come back as he told my father he wished he could find me and bring me back. I didn't witness this, so why...? Why is this in my memory. I bite my thumb and glance out toward the cemetery. Masao's laying out there, too. Again, another event I should have NO memory of, Masao started in on Natsuno after the funeral, and punched him. _WHY do I know these things!? And, Masao, picking a fight at my funeral...? Anybody's funeral for that matter, but forcing Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu-Chan to have to sit there and watch that? How could you!?_

Tatsumi-Kun pushes his face into mine, forcing me back to the here and now. "YOU don't have anywhere to go if you leave us. If you return to your family and friends, you'll scare them. You'll also reveal our existence, and we'd have to kill you and everyone of them that learned about us. We're not ready to reveal ourselves, just yet. Our numbers are still slowly growing. But that's what Sunako wants. She wants our numbers to grow, so that we can take over this little village. Besides, you're better off with us. As long as you do as you're told, Yoshie and I will protect you, and the humans will try to stop you from feeding if you go to them. Or you will feed from the same one until they perish, then you'll simply have to find a new one to feed on."

"Huh...?" I blink.

"You can eat human food and drink animal blood, but it holds no nutritional value for you. An entire bowl of rice will leave you feeling as though you never ate a thing. A four course meal will still leave you feeling hungry. HUMAN blood is the only thing that will satisfy your hunger, and ignoring it will only make it worse, until it consumes you! We're not kidnapping you, we're saving you! We're not asking you to commit murder, we're telling you to eat." He points at the girl. "That is nothing more than a head of cattle, and the city is thriving full of them. It's no different than a human eating a pig or a cow."

"But..." I start.

He sighs and rubs his eyes. "A lot of people are squeamish on their first bit," he admits. "That's alright, that's why we've offered the secondary option." He points at the glass sitting next to the girl.

"You mean this is...?" I ask

He nods. "That's right, it's fresh blood, recently harvested. Drink from the girl, or drink from the glass, it doesn't matter. But you've only got three chances before you'll have to go for the girl or starve," he warns.

I walk over to the girl. Her eyes are so full of fear and confusion, the same that I had felt waking up in the coffin. I frown at her. Her screams and pleas for help are muffled by the gag in her mouth. I kneel down next to her and reach for her. She closes her eyes and flinches away, before I even touch her. I can't blame her.

"Untie her and I'll kill you both," Tatsumi-Kun growls.

I close my eyes. He saw right through me. With a defeated sigh, I snatch up the glass and raise it to my lips. My hand trembles as I look down at the glass full of thick red liquid. There's nothing about it that comes across as appetizing. I start to feel a pang in my stomach. It quickly becomes excruciating. Is this what he was talking about? I glance toward him, then back to the girl, then back down to the glass. Licking my lips, I draw the glass to my mouth and begin to down it. It's fowl. It smells like copper coins and doesn't taste much better. I force down the entire glass, then pull the container away from my mouth, coughing and sputtering from the taste. "It taste horrible!" I protest, tears in my eyes.

Tatsumi-Kun chuckles, "Don't worry, it'll grow on you." Ugh, I don't want it to grow on me! I just want to go back to my family. Tatsumi-Kun sighs. "Now, you've fed. Come along, time to introduce you to the others."

They introduce me to the 'others. There's quite a few people that I know, which is both surprising and disturbing. Madam Nao is here, as is Megumi-Chan, who is, of course, very unhappy to see I rose. "I should have made sure you couldn't come back," she hisses.

"Now, now, Megumi-Chan," Tatsumi-Kun says patting her on the shoulder. "You should be proud of yourself for being able to Sire him as one of us. If he didn't have any regrets before dying, then you toyed with him to the point of making him suffer enough to rise up again." He ruffles his hands through her hair, and licks his lips as he smiles at her. "You're really shaping up to be one of my favorites." I shiver watching how he's smiling at her. _She's not even fifteen yet, how old are you you pervert? What the Hell am I thinking? She would be fifteen by now, if she wasn't dead! That just makes this whole scenario even worse._

Megumi-Chan blushes and giggles. "So, then I did a good job, ne, Tatsumi-Kun?" she asks in an almost seductive voice. _Oh God, I don't think I can stomach watching where this is going._ Tatsumi-Kun smiles and nods at her. She smiles and balls her fists happily under her chin. "Then does that mean I can go back and see Yuuki-Kun after I feed tonight?" she requests.

"No!" I exclaim, without even thinking. Megumi-Chan and Tatsumi-Kun both turn their attention to me, their black eyes glowing red. A chill runs down my spine.

"What did you just say?" Megumi-Chan hisses.

"Leave Natsuno alone, Megumi-Chan," I plead nervously, "You've done enough to him already."

Tatsumi-Kun approaches me, eyes closed, hands on his hips. He walks up to my right hand side, but doesn't turn to face me. "Torhu..." he growls my name. Before I can even react, I find myself wide eyed and doubled over in pain as he lands a punch to my stomach. I sink to my knees, my arms folded around me. "I say what does and doesn't happen around here," he says calmly. He smiles and catches me by the hair, dragging me to my feet. "You're going to be a problem, aren't you?" I hear a soft squeal of delight come from Megumi-Chan. "I can see it already. You're a weakling and a coward." He smiles and licks his lips. "It's been a long time since I've had a good punching bag." Turning back to Megumi-Chan he smiles at the pink haired girl. "This one's still got a lot to learn. Go on out to hunt, Megumi-Chan, and feel free to stop by and see your little boyfriend on the way. Just try not to let him know you're there this time."

"He's not her boyfriend," I protest as she runs off, "and he never will be. She's only causing them both more grief."

"Those were her two regrets," Tatsumi-Kun says, leering at me.

"Huh?" I blink at him.

"She didn't make it to the city to become a model, and she didn't land that Yuuki brat," he says, "I'm not going to deny her the privilege to see him."

"She's not going to hurt him, is she?" I ask worriedly.

"No, at least not yet, anyway," Tatsumi-Kin says.

The next three nights feel like I'm trapped in some kind of indoctrination camp. I'm drug back to the mausoleum, the same poor frightened girl is still there and tied down. The glass is there, too, but it's not as full as it was last night. I force down the glass again. If I do or say anything Tatsumi-Kun or Meguni-Chan dislikes, Tatsumi-Kun becomes physically violent toward me. He stops short of killing me, and I heal fast, but he's quick to remind me he's 'top dog' out here. Each night, there's less and less blood in the glass, four nights in, and there's no glass at all. Just the girl, and a strong hunger that was barely sustained the night before.

I'm shut in this time, left alone with her. She's frightened and crying. I approach and kneel down next to her. "Shh..." I whisper, gently placing my hand on her head. "It's ok. I won't hurt you. They'll have to let me out of here sometime," I promise her.

I wish I could say I told her the truth, but with each passing moment, the hunger becomes stronger and I can smell her blood, smell her fear. I still don't care for the taste of blood, but before long, my body's screaming for it. She can sense it, too, I think. As I continue to try and fight back, I can smell her fear growing stronger. Tears begin streaming down both our faces. I can't keep fighting this. I lean over her and lick my lips. "I'm so sorry," I say, before biting into her neck. She flinches and lets out a muffled shriek of pain, then falls limp as I suck her blood. Hers taste better than what had been in the glass, but I still don't find it palatable. I drain her until she falls unconscious, then continue feeding until my hunger is satisfied. I regain my senses and scramble away from her. "Oh God, what have I done!?" I sob, burying my face behind my hands. _I've become a monster!_


	6. Chapter 6

Three days later, I hear that Masao passed away. I don't know if he'll rise up or not, but if he does, I hae no desire to see him. A few days pass, and Tatsumi-Kun comes to me, with a sadistic smile on his face. "What did I do this time?" I ask, keeping my eyes cast downward. Lately, he only comes to see me if he wants to berate me for being weak. slow, or stupid. Rarely does he not get physical about it. I've been forced to go out and hunt every night since I bit the girl. I perpously choose older victims, people who don't have very long left to live to begin with. I drain them until they're unconcious, and then leave. If they die of heart failure do to it, I know I caused it, but at least I left them alive, with a chance to recover. Maybe Tatsumi-Kun's figured out what I've been doing, and has come to punish me for it.

"Don't play innocent with me," Tatsumi-Kun growls. I flinch. He sounds mad. I slowly look up at him. Oh, no doubt about it, he knows what I've done. "I've been watching you, Tohru! I've known from the start what you've been doing with your victims! You cowardly little worm, I told you Sunako wants our numbers to grow, yet you keep trying to find the easy way out. Haven't you figured it out that there's no punishment for doing what you need to do in order to survive?"

I shake my head and sink to my knees, resigned for whatever violence he decides to bestow on me tonight. "I don't care! What we are... What I've become... This hunger when it can't be controlled. That's not something I want to be responsible for forcing onto anyone else!" I sob. "Why can't the rest of you understand that?"

"Do you realize how lonely eternity is when there's no one to spend it with you?" Tatsumi-Kun says mindlessly, looking out toward the direction of Kanemasa. We 'Fledglings' aren't allowed up to the mansion unless on official business, we have to take sanctuary in other places where the humans won't find us. Sunako, our self proclaimed queen is hidden away in Kanemasa.

"Huh?" I ask.

"NOTHING!" Tatsumi-Kun growls, regaining his usual demeanor and turning back to me. "I'm disappointed in you, Tohru," he snarls, "I've given you far too many chances. I asked Sunako how to punish you. She refuses to allow me to destroy you just yet." A smile sweeps his face and he gives a laugh. "She has other plans. As you know, Nao-San has been trying to turn her family. Her mother-in-law is the last, but she's been taken to Ozaki-Sensei's clinic. Night after tomorrow, a group of us is going out to raid the hospital and take her back."

"I want no part of it," I say coldly.

"Don't worry about that," Tatsumi-Kun chuckles, "You're not invited." He walks over and towers over me, hands on his hips. He bends at the waist and pushes his face into mine. "I've got another mission for you in the meantime."

"No," I refuse without even hearing him out. "I refuse to target anyone outside my usual target group."

"You don't even know what it is, yet," he laughs, "I thought you'd be happy to see your old friend Yuuki Natsuno again."

My eyes grow wide and I look up at him. "N-Natsuno? What about him?" I ask. _Did Megumi-Chan get him without my knowledge. Has he been turned?_ But I've been keeping an eye on his house. I stop by his and mine every night on my way back from the hunt to make sure there aren't any other Okiagari lurking about. _He should have been safe!_

"He knows about us. He tipped the Doctor off to our presence a few days ago and is out to digging up Megumi-Chan's grave as we speak," Tatsumi-Kun says.

"I don't believe you," I say. Tatsumi-Kun looks at me with a raised eyebrow. Before he can ask why I would accuse him of lying, I add, "Natsuno doesn't believe in creatures like us. If omeone told him about us, he'd think they were crazy!"

"You're wrong," Tatsumi-Kun says, "He's known everytime Megumi-Chan has been out his window, ever since we started letting her go out. It's why he's had trouble sleeping at home, isn't it?" My eyes grow wide. "He saw the first time she bit you, too. So yes, he knows, and believes, and he's fighting back."

I stagger to my feet. "What are you asking me to do? I won't hurt him, Tatsumi-Kun! I'll try to convince him to stop, but I won't hurt him!"

"Yes you will," Tatsumi-Kun says, slamming me against the wall. "You're under orders to dispose of him. Sunako said that she will overlook everything you've done up to this point if you rid us of him."

"And if I refuse?" I ask.

"Then we'll send someone to your house for your brother and sister," Tasumi-Kun threatens. I don't answer him. I don't want them to target Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu-Chan. But I still don't want to hurt Natsuno. Tatsumi-Kun huffs and slams me against the wall again. "You're hopless," he scolds. "Fine, I'll send Masao after one of your siblings. Maybe Megumi-Chan will go after this Yuuki brat." I freeze in horror at those words. "Or, I suppose I can send someone he doesn't know. I just figured he'd be lest likely to fight back if it were someone he trusts." He starts to walk away.

"NO, wait, please!" I say. He turns and looks back at me. Maybe... Maybe I can work this to my advantage and save him. Tatsumi-Kun will be at the clinic. "Natsuno will fight back if someone he doesn't know comes after him. And he's terrified of Megumi-Chan," I hang my head, "He'd never let her get close enough. He'd hate it if he became one of us. If someone has to do it, it would be better if it were someone he knew."

"Then you'll do it?" Tatsumi-Kun asks.

I look away and nod, trying not to let the tears flow. "I'll do it." _Maybe I can convince him to leave, to run now while he can, and never come back, then convince the others he's gone? I can't let on what I'm thinking. Tatsumi-Kun will be at the clinic, I'll have a chance to talk to him. Maybe I won't even have to bite him._

"Good, you and Matsuo Shizuka will be heading to his house tomorrow night." I flinch and look up at him. _Tomorrow?_ "Send Shizuka-Chan to the door to gain entry. She already knows what to say and do." I nod. Great, tonight and chaperoned? "I sent someone to keep an eye on him and his friends tonight. IF he makes it home at all, I want you to bite him immediately after gaining entry. You have until the end of the week to get rid of him, before I send someone else, and that's being generous. If it comes down to it, I will take him out personally, and force you and Megumi both to watch," he threatens.

"That won't be necessary," I assure him.

"Good, now go," he orders.

"Y-yes, Tatsumi-Kun," I answer, turning and leaving. Like it or not, I still have to feed tonight.

"And Tohru," he calls after me. I stop, but don't look back. "If it DOES come to that, you're next, followed by your entire family."

"I understand," I say, leaving the room.

* * *

Shizuka-Chan and I leave the next night, heading straight for Natsuno's house. I'm still plotting a way to get out of this. If I convince Shizuka-Chan to wait out in the woods, maybe I can slip inside his room, convince him to leave in the morning, and then claim I bit him. I wait out in the tree line, as Shizuka goes to the front door. Even at this distance, I can hear and see everything that's happening, without being seen.

"Remember," I whisper as she scampers toward the house, "We're here for Natsuno, his parents are off limits!"

"I know," Shizuka-Chan replies. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing! Besides, I fed before we left" She falls silent for a moment, then mumbles under her breath, " _ **I'M NOT the incompetant one, anyway!**_ "

"Wha... What...? Why you little...!" I growl. I don't have it in me to hurt her, even when she sticks her tongue out a me and pulls down one of her eyelids. _Disrespectful brat!_

"Excuse me?" Shizuka-Chan calls, knocking at the door.

The door opens, and Natsuno's fathe answers. "Yes?"

"Is this where Yuuki-San resides?" Shizuka asks, keeping her eyes hidden by her school cap and using her Geisha puppet to talk through. I heave a sigh and bury my face in my hand. I'm half hopeful Yuuki-San won't let her in. "I am called Shizuka. Where is Natsuno-Dono? Is... Is he home?" _DONO? Really? MASTER NATSUNO? Yuuki-San, PLEASE don't agree to let her in._

"Ah, you're one of Natsuno's friends, then?" Yuuki-San asks. I blink in disbelief. _You CAN'T be serious...?_ "He's not home yet." _Really? Where would he be at this hour? With who...? Did he finally...? No, he said that guy had a girlfriend... Then, why isn't he home? If he knows about us, doesn't he realize it's safer to be indoors after dark?_ "Is there something you wanted to see him about?"

She continues to use the doll for a ventriloquist act, and Yuuki-San looks annoyed, almost creeped out. "It's a matter of importance, may I wait for him?"

"What's so important? I can take a message for him," Yuuki-San offers.

"No, I have to speak with him in person!" Shizuka-Chan insists.

"But it's late, and I don't know when he'll be back," Yuuki-San argues, "It's already dinnertime, why don't you go home tonight and try again tomorrow?"

Shizuka pushes her freakly little puppet into Yuuki-San's face, showing it's sharp shark-like teeth, and pulling a string to make it's eyes bulge like a monster's. "NO!"

Yuuki-San staggers back a bit, startled by the puppet's sudden change from an unassuming child's toy to this hideous demon head. I find some sort of bitter, yet delightful irony in the fact that he profusely insist on not believing in monsters, religions, or superstitions, yet this clearly startled him. I guess even grown ups can get scared. I try not to laugh at the look on his face.

"It HAS to be TODAY!" Shizuka-Chan insists, "IF I SAY I WILL WAIT, I WILL WAIT!"

"Like I said, I don't know when he'll be back! What's your family name?" Yuuki-San asks, "Where are you from?"

"I AM MATSUO SHIZUKA!" she shrieks, "I LIVE IN SAKAIMA-TSU ON THE BORDER OF KAMISOTOBA BEFORE THE GATE!"

"SakaiMatsu? Is that a place or a store?" Yuuki-San asks, "I still don't know a lot about this village, especially that far out." He holds up his hand to bar her entrance and I heave a quiet sigh of relief. It doesn't seem like he's planning to let her in. "In any case, it's far away and late. You should go home for today, and I'll let him know you came by."

Shizuka-Chan screams in rage and throws the puppet, mouth wide open, straight at Yuuki-San. My eyes grow wide. She knows we're not supposed to hurt Natsuno's parents, and I can't give myself away. Thankfully, Yuuki-San moves to the side and the puppet whizzes past his head, slamming into the wall behind slumping onto the floor. "Hey!?" he starts to scold her, he stops, breathless as Shizuka-Chan holds up her hand, revealing a face painted on it.

"WHY DO YOU INTERFERE YOU STUPID OLD MAN!" she screams. I can't help but face palm again. She accuses me of being the incompitant one, but then does stuff like this? Yuuki-San isn't the kind of guy who tollerates this sort of behavior. I'm surprised he hasn't slammed the door in her face yet. "HURRY UP AND LET ME IN!"

"What is going on out here?" Koide-Sama asks, coming out of the kitchen to see what the commotion is all about.

Yuuki-San points at Shizkua-Chan. He's clearly disgusted with her behavior and fed up with the vintriloquist act. "Azusa, this girl claims to have business with Natsuno. She's insisting on waiting."

Koide-Sama simply sighs. "My, what an adorable little girl." _Oh no...!_ I seem to recall Koide-Sama once telling me how lucky she thought I must feel being an older sibling. She'd always wanted to give Natsuno a little sister, but it simply never happened, and by the time he was ten, he was still the only child and rather spoiled about it, so she gave up the idea. _Here it comes..._ "Can't we just let her in? _**She's only a child, after all!**_ "

Yuuki-San huffs. "Fine, you can wait inside for now!" Shizuka-Chan zips past him without so much as a word of thanks. I almost wish Yuuki-San would turn her over his knee and spank her for the way she was acting before Koide-Sama came to the door. "Hey!?"

She picks up her puppet and reattatches the head, then turns and looks at him. "Now, I will wait in Natsuno-Dono's room, which way is it?" Yuuki-San looks like he's about to object, when she stomps her foot. "WHICH WAY!?"

Yuuki-San stares at her in flustered shock and Koide-Sama can't help stifling a giggle at his expense. "Make a right at the end of the hall."

Again, no word of thanks, she simply keeps walking. _Did this kid's parents teach her ANY manners when she was still alive, or does she just think they don't apply to her now that she's among the undead?_ "Oh, yes," she says, "My brothe may join me later. Is that fine?"

Yuuki-San heaves a sigh and starts to close the door. "Yes, yes, go ahead!"

I bite my finger. Damn, if Koide-Sama had only stayed out of it or supported Yuuki-San's decision to turn her away. We wait late into the night. Natsuno doesn't come, and since they made sure Shizuka was fed, but didn't feed me, I'm starting to get really hungry. What am I doing here? I really don't want to do this.

Shizuka gets bored, sitting by herself in the dark in Natsuno's room and starts to snoop. Finally, she gets tired of waiting. We don't have very long left before we have to start back 'home' to the others, and I still need to feed. Shizuka-Chan waits a few more minutes and turns down an offer from Koide-Sama for some home brewed tea. A few moments later, she scrambles out through Natsuno's window and comes running up to me.

I scowl at her, my hands on my hips. "Do you act like that to everybody?" I scold her. "You're lucky they let you in at all acting like that!"

She ignores my scolding. "His room is boring," she says. "I tried to look for something to keep my occupied, but mostly all I found were school books. I did find this, though!" She unzips the school satchel hanging off her shoulder and pulls out a stuffed bear that she had squished down inside it. "I can't believe this guy still plays with stuffed animals?"

My eyes widen at the sight of the stuffed animal. "H-Honey Bear?" I forget my own manners and snatch it from her.

"Hey!?" she exclaims. "I found it, fair and square! Give it back!"

" _ **Why... Why does he have this?**_ " I mumble out loud, hugging the stuffed animal tight.

She freezes, her eyes widening for a moment of realization. "It's not his... It's yours, isn't it?"

I give a quiet nod, hugging the bear closer, tears running down my cheeks. I drop to my knees. "Of all the people my parents could have given her to," I laugh, "I never even wanted him to know I had this."

"It's yours anyway, keep it!" Shizuka-Chan says. "Why should he have it, if it means that much to you?"

They wanted to let him have something to remember me by, didn't they? I'm confused as to why he chose THIS of all things, but I'm sure someone had told him what sort of sentimental value the bear had for me if this was his choice. _I'm sorry, Natsuno. I'm keeping her tonight. I'll bring her back when I come talk to you._

"Let's go," Shizuka-Chan says, "It's getting late, and you need to feed."

I nod and we leave. Along the way, we stop and I find someone else to feed from. In spite of Shizuka-Chan's protest, I stick to my usual M.O., someone old and feeble, who's lived a long life, and doesn't have much longer. I knock at the window until they answer, then pull them out and bite their neck, draining them until my hunger is satisfied. Then, I hypnotize them to ensure they don't tell anyone what really happened, and leave. Whatever happens to them beyond that, I have no part in. I'm becoming use to the guilt.

I return to Natsuno's the next night, but can't gain entry. His room is covered in protection scrolls, crosses, and good luck charms. They all seem to be cheap and hand made, but they're still effective. I can't enter it. From the angle in which I'm looking, I can see him lying in his bed. Same as the last time he slept over at my house, flat on his back, hands clasped together over his chest. I smile. He's safe tonight, and looks peaceful and content. If I can't get in, thanks to these protection wards, no one else can, either. I leave, and hunt for food elsewhere. I'll come back to check on him tomorrow night.


	7. Chapter 7

He has nothing to protect himself tonight. The wards and charms are all gone. I set Honey Bear down on the ground next to the tree Megumi-Chan always hid behind. Tonight's my chance to talk with him. The others are at the clinic, there's no one here to supervise me, no one who can hear me tell him to get the Hell out of Dodge, to run and follow his dream and never look back. It's just past midnight and officially Tuesday morning as I approach the window. _**Tap, tap, tap.**_ _**Tap, tap, tap.**_

No answer. I try the window. Thanks to Shizuka-Chan, I should already have the invitation required to enter the house. It doesn't open. Natsuno's locked it. He always was a smart kid. I'm proud of him for taking the precautions to prevent entry, but... I really would like to see him, just to talk to him one last time would be enough. I stop rattling the window, turn and walk around the house. I remember Natsuno once told me his father forbade locking the door, because he believed nobody in Sotoba did so, due to lack of crime.

The front door opens and I'm able to slip inside. I head toward Natsuno's room. No, that door's locked too. I smile. Good boy, Natsuno. You made sure all your bases were covered, didn't you? I go back outside and try to convince myself to leave. If I can't get in, I can't get in, that's all there is to it. Then I stop and shake my head as I remember Tatsumi's words. **"If you don't do it, I'll send someone else. If I have to I'll kill him myself, and force you and Megumi-Chan to watch. Then you and your family are next!"**

NO! I can't just leave like this! I have to try. I return to his window. _**Tap, tap, tap.**_ "Natsuno?" _**Tap, tap, tap.**_ "Natsuno?" I hear something heavy and metal drop onto the floor. "Natsuno, it's me." I kneel down next to the window. My mind is suddenly torn as I can only begin to imagine what seeing me will do to him.

He opens the blinds. "Who is it?"

"It's me," I say again. He hesitates, but finally opens the window.

"Hey?" he leans over. I reach up and grab his hand. For a brief moment, I forget I'm not on the hunt and try to pull him through the window. But, he's not like my usual prey, he's younger and stronger, he pulls back. I remember what I'm really here to do and try to cover my face, but he yanks so hard he's able to pull me so that he can see who's caught him. "T-Tohru-Chan...?" I look up at him. His voice and face are both full of fear and confusion as he calls my name. Cruel irony. He looked to me for safety, and now he's frightened of me. I can't bare to look him in the eyes. I cover my face again, releasing him, and turn and run. "Tohru-Chan!" I hear him call after me.

I run, hoping he doesn't follow me. He's safer inside. The others all know he's seen as a threat. He and Ozaki-Sensei have been branded as hunters. If any of them see him and he doesn't bare my fang marks, they'll attack him on sight to gain favor with Sunako. I reach the healing spring and stop, looking down into the water. The Spider God's still there. I start to cry as I remember the day I'd brought Natsuno to it. I can't touch the water, can't drink it. It has healing properties and works against us in the same manner as Holy Water. All I can do is stand there and watch it flow, and remember all the time I spent at this stream, listening to it gurgle and bubble. Natsuno and I actually hung out here a few times after I showed it to him, but he never actually touched the water again. I move up to the trees behind the fountain and begin to weigh my options.

Closing my eyes, I start to cry. He looked so scared when he saw me. I closed my eyes and started to sob, leaning against the closest tree. I don't know what to do at this point. "Tohru? What are you doing?" a voice comes from behind. It burns in my ears to hear HER voice at this moment. It's akin to being stung by a bee, right at the most sensitive spot in the back of the ear. "So, YOU'RE the one Tatsumi-Kun sent?" she asks. She giggles, "Well, he is quite the sadist. Leave it to him to send Yuuki-Kun's best friend."

"Tatsumi-Kun said if I don't do it, he'll target Aoi-Chan or Tamotsu-Chan next," I sob.

"So, you're going to kill him?" I can almost hear excitement in her voice as she taunts me, "Compared to them and your best friend, your family won out?"

"NO!" I exclaim, punching the tree so hard that I dent it. "That's not it!"

"Then what?" she asks.

"Tatsumi-Kun wants to get back at Natsuno for finding out about us. This is your fault, Megumi-Chan! If you'd never shown yourself to him, he'd never know we exist! So to get back at Natsuno for fighting back, Tatsumi-Kun sent me. If I refused, he would have sent someone else! I'd rather it be me. It'd be better if it was someone he knew." I whip around and look at her, frustration smeared across my face, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Then what are you doing wasting your time here?" she asks. I look up at her. _YOU didn't see that look on his face when he saw me._ Natsuno's not the kind of guy to break down in tears, but in that moment, it truly looked like he could have. "His house is in that direction." She points in the direction of Natsuno's house.

"Yeah, of course YOU know which way it is!" I scoff. She blinks at me. "He knows you've been spying on him since the start," I inform her. A blush sweeps her face. "He told me so himself."

She shakes that comment off, neither confirming or denying the accusation. "You've chickened out!" she says, "Fine! I'll do it."

"Wha...? Cut it out, Megumi-Chan!" I exclaim.

"I won't falter like you!" she says.

I catch her shoulder. "Wait! If you act on your own, Tatsumi will punish you, maybe both of us. You know how scary he is, right?"

"Of course, I know all that!" she says, slapping my hand away. "I don't care." She turns and smiles at me, her pink hair swirling around her like a dancer's ribbons. "I'll bite Yuuki-Kun and turn him. He can't hunt us if he becomes one of us. Then, he'll be all mine," she giggles, "Maybe we can convince Tatsumi-Kun to move us both to the City Division together."

"He'll hate that, Megumi-Chan!" I exclaim. "Why can't you just accept he's not interested in you? And he'd hate it if he became one of us. He'd never forgive either of us for that. Don't you care anything about what he wants?"

She glares at me for a moment. "Tohru-Chan? Where are you?" Natsuno's voice rings out. _Oh God no, he followed me!_ "Show yourself, Tohru-Chan? _**...Please...**_ "

"You can just sit still and watch from there!" Megumi-Chan scoffs, jumping down, and heading toward him.

I stand quietly for a moment, before burying my face into my hands. "Natsuno," I sob.

Natsuno staggers up to the spring. _Oh God, don't tell me now of all times, his bad knee's decided to start bothering him?_ He kneels down at the spring. I can't help watching in silent horror as I try to sort things out in my mind. How am I going to get him out of this without hurting him now? He looks like he's in so much pain. I shouldn't have run. Natsuno reaches into the water. Let's hope the spider god has mercy on him.

Megumi-Chan stops. She simply freezes in her tracks, like a deer caught in the headlights, and stares. I trail my eyes up to see what she's looking at. _Oh no!_ "Hi! You are Yuuki Natsuno-Kun, right?" Tatsumi-Kun asks, smiling at him.

"Who wants to know?" Natsuno scrambles to his feet.

"That's right, I didn't introduce myself the last time we met, did I?" Tatsumi-Kun laughs, "My name is Tatsumi, I work up there at the Kirishiki household on Kanemasa. I'm here to kill you." He acts so casual about it. My nails dig into the tree next to me. This whole thing just went from bad to worse.

"WHY?" Natsuno demands.

"You're pretty sharp, kid. You were the first one to become aware of us," Tatsumi-Kun says bluntly.

"That's your own damned faults!" he points out. "You shouldn't have revealed yourselves to me, if you knew that was going to be a problem for you!"

"You're brave, too. You noticed us, but instead of leaving the village like you should have, you came running back," Tatsumi-Kun continues.

"I..." Natsuno clenches his fists. "I couldn't leave after that. My heart was tied here! I couldn't leave while I knew you people were ruining everything the one person that ever meant a damn to me cared about." He sounds so brave as he says it. His voice never faltered, not a single tear or sob. _But the way he's talking._ Something suddenly clicks. _'The one person that ever meant a damn to him?' 'His heart was tied here?'_ I close my eyes as those words resonate in my head. _Oh, Natsuno..._

Tatsumi-Kun laughs. "Exactly. You couldn't leave, because you're very kind, aren't you, Natsuno?"

"Don't call me that." Natsuno growls. "Don't you DARE call me by my name!"

Tatsumi-Kun keeps his hands on his hips and moves closer. "You couldn't leave because after a year of living here, you've actually grown to care about Sotoba, haven't you? You don't have very many, but you're not exactly bereft of friends, are you?"

"Don't talk like you know me!" Natsuno snips.

"But, that's a problem for us. Just like Ozaki-Sensei, you're trying to hunt us. We can't let hunters live, it simply isn't allowed. This would be easier if you were someoene who'd just lie in bed, trembling under the covers, like your friend Tohru."

"You bastard!" Natsuno growls. Mentioning my name hit the very nerve Tatsumi-Kun was hoping for. Natsuno throws the ladel from the spring at Tatsumi-Kun, but Tatsumi-Kun dodges with very little effort. "Alright, so you want to kill me? But, I won't take it lying down. You'll have to catch me first."

"Oh, a game of Oni tag does sound fun, but let me suggest something a bit more fun? Megumi-Chan, come out here, please," Tatsumi-Kun calls calmly. Megumi-Chan and I both jerk in response. He knows she's there. Does he know I'm here, too? Is he trying to use her to bait me? _Damn it all, Tatsumi-Kun, you sick sadistic bastard!_

Natsuno turns and looks wide eyed in horror as she walks out of the tree line. Skin so pale it would put a Kagome doll to shame, hair so pink it almost glows in the dark, pink dress and boots, pink gloves and nails, and fishnets running up the rest of her legs. She's beautiful, but to him, she's nightmare fuel. She slowly walks out onto the road and turns to face Natsuno and Tatsumi-Kun. "Sh...Shi-mi-zu..." Natsuno's voice is full of fear as he says her name.

"Tatsumi-Kun, I..." she stammers.

"I expected you'd come running to find him," Tatsumi-Kun laughs, "You said you were going to make Yuuki-Kun yours, didn't you? Well, I'm going to make this special exception. This is your chance." Megumi-Chan looks up. "Now it's him against two of us!" Tatsumi-Kun says, holding up his arms. "Do WHATEVER you please with him."

Megumi-Chan turns to Natsuno and smiles. Natsuno's front melts. All that poise and bravery he'd been exuding toward Tatsumi-Kun leaves him in a mere instant. "Yuuki-Kun, please understand. It's better if I attack you than a stranger, right?" she reasons.

"NO!" he screams, feeling for the ladle, before realizing that's what he'd thrown at Tatsumi-Kun. "You stay back!" He moves around the edge of the spring. _Damn it all, Natsuno, I warned you the spider god would curse you the next time you touched the water! Don't just stand there, run!_ He slips, and falls flat on his butt, scooting back a bit, he forces himself back to his feet and makes his way toward the trees, hoping to find a place to hide. They're faster than he is, and have a better sense of smell, and night vision. Even if he finds a hiding place, they'll find him. He doesn't turn his back on them, I suppose he knows that'll seal his doom. Megumi-Chan's eyes begin to glow red, as do Tatsumi-Kun's. He reaches the edge of the tree line and looks back and forth between the two of them, frozen in fear. If Megumi-Chan gets him first, she'll force him to play at being her boyfriend until he dies. Tatsumi-Kun's already promised he'd make us both watch if he catches Natsuno, he WON'T be gentle. Natsuno's clearly frightened, but still refusing to cry.

"Yuuki-Kun..." Megumi-Chan beckons using her same sickeningly sweet voice she used to use when greeting him. "Yuuki-Kun, come to me."

 _Damn it all, I'm left with no choice!_ I leap from the trees, wrapping my arms around him, covering his mouth and pulling him into the threes. Megumi-Chan gasps and stops in her tracks. Tatsumi-Kun stops and smiles.

"Shh... Shh..." I whisper into his ear, "It's alright, Natsuno, calm down. You're only making this harder on yourself." He stops struggling, but trembles as I gently press my lips against the back of his neck. "I know you're scared, but I've got you. I won't let them touch you," I promise.

"Teru-hun?" he calls my name, but it's muffled by my hand. Natsuno, I'm sorry it's come to this.

"Mutou, no!" Megumi-Chan exclaims as I walk out of the trees, with Natsuno in tow.

"You wanted me to do this?" I glare at Tatsumi-Kun. "Fine. As long as it's not her!" I point at Megumi-Chan. "But I do it my way." Natsuno starts to squirm again. "Shh... It'll all be over soon, Natsuno," I promise, "In the morning, this'll have been nothing more than another bad dream." I pull him closer and my tears splash onto his shoulders. Still holding a hand over his mouth, I tilt his head the side, exposing his neck. Gently supporting his back, I grab him firmly, my arms wrapped around his chest. Natsuno's not a faceless, nameless victim. He's not some older person who's staring death in the face every time he wakes up or goes to bed. He's my best friend, a young man who's got the potential of a bright future sprawling out in front of him. He deserves any sort of treatment that will make this easier on him. He turns his eyes so that he can see me. Fear, hurt, and betrayal are all clouding those beautiful indigo eyes of his. I lean down and press my lips to his neck once more and his whole body shivers. "I'm so sorry, Natsuno," I whisper, tearfully.

I open my mouth and a muffled scream escapes him at the sight of my fangs. He's no longer able to fight back the tears as I bite into his neck. I try to be gentle and make it as painless as possible. Megumi-Chan shrieks, and looks on horrified, mortified that I beat her to him. Tatsumi-Kun merely laughs.

I think we both blush. His blood tastes better than any I've had. My body starts to become warmer, as his becomes colder, his strength slowly leaves him. His legs buckle and he wraps his left arm behind my head for support.

"Oh my," Tatsumi-Kun chortles, "I think he's getting turned on by this Tohru-Kun. I knew you two were close, but I didn't realize you were THAT close." _Pervert!_

"Wh...What!?" Megumi-Chan shrieks, her face turning as pink as her hair. "Y... You mean, Yuuki-Kun is...?" She wide eyed, she looks on at us for a moment, then looks Natsuno up and down, from head to toe. She shakes her head, covers her face, and sinks to her knees. It's true. I think he is getting turned on. I've betrayed his trust in more ways than one tonight. "I'm such an idiot," she sobs into her hands.

One of my tears drops on his shoulder and runs down his shoulder. Natsuno's fingers catch the back of my neck, and slip into my hair, almost as if he's trying to let me know he's not mad that his secret's been discovered. I drink until he's just moments from passing out, then release him. My face is the last thing he sees before he falls unconscious. Natsuno, I'm so sorry!

Megumi-Chan just sits there and sobs as her dreams have all come crashing down around her. "Good job, Tohru," Tatsumi-Kun commends me. "I knew you had it in you. You just needed the right motivation." He smiles as he slaps a hand on my shoulder and looks down at Natsuno. "But, I don't think you drank enough blood. You're not planning on deceiving me, are you?"

"N-No, of course not, Tatsumi-Kun!" I lie.

He smirks. "Then I guess you just weren't hungry enough?" He licks his lips. "We can't have that, now, can we?" He bites me. I let out a shriek of pain and Megumi-Chan merely stands there, glaring at me, tears in her eyes, like she thinks this whole thing is my fault. Tatsumi-Kun bleeds me. He's a rare kind of Okiagari. Stronger than us, faster, meaner, most of what will kill us is nothing more than a mosquito bite to him. He can feed from us or humans. But he can also eat human food. He just prefers not to. He drains me until he hears me give out a low growl as a hunger pang hits me. Satisfied with that, he lets go, allowing me to slump to my knees. "Now, maybe next time, you'll drink more. Take him home, change his clothes so no one finds it strange that he's still in his day clothes when they find him in the morning. And make sure to hypnotize him so he doesn't tell anyone else what happened."

I give a quiet nod and gently scoop Natsuno into my arms. Megumi-Chan turns away in disgust and storms off. Tatsumi-Kun merely leaves. I carry Natsuno home and slip into his bedroom through the still open window. I lay him on the bed and begin rummaging through his drawers to find something to dress him in. I pick out a pair of boxers and a tank-top style muscle shirt. I feel like I'm invading his privacy as I change his clothes. Somehow, though... Something tells me he wouldn't mind under normal circumstances. I lay him back on the bed and tuck him under the covers. I'm suppose to hypnotize him, but I've already broken him enough tonight. I can't bring myself to break his mind, too.

"You're smart enough not to tell anyone, even if I don't," I say out loud, ruffling a hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry, Natsuno. I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but it was the only way I saw out." I start to cry as I wrap my hands around one of his. His body's already so cold, and his breathing's strained. "I'll give you some time to get better, then I'll come back," I promise. "I'm so sorry. We'll talk when you're better."

With that, I leave, closing the window. The next night, I decide not to go Natsuno. I figure I'll feed from someone among my usual target range, but Tatsumi-Kun bars my way. He refuses to let me leave, or feed. Any attempt to do so is met with physical violence. He's starving me on perpose. He wants me to be good and hungry next time I see Natsuno.


	8. Chapter 8

I go back to Natsuno's the following night. I'm hesitant to see him, but equally eager. We have so much to talk about. I have to convince him to give up this fight and leave, before the hunger takes me! And after last night, what he said to Tatsumi-Kun... His heart is tied here? The one person who meant anything to him...? Have I really been that blind? Had I been unintentionally leading him on? I care about him as if he were my own family, but he knows I'm in love with Ritsuko-Chan. My chances with her have been dashed. Megumi-Chan stole that from me when she decided to kill me! I never could get him to tell me who he was crushing on. Was he afraid I'd stop talking to him if I knew it was me? I have so much I need to talk with him about.

I slip up to his window and lean against the wall. I raise my hand to knock, then stop. I hang my head. _He'll never forgive me. If he sees me tonight, he's more likely to run a stake straight through my heart, rather than welcome me with open arms, and I wouldn't blame him, to be honest._ I chicken out. _As long as he's inside at night, or out where people can see him during the day, he's safe. No one can bite him now that I have, as long as I'm still around. It's best if I just leave him._

I slump and start to walk away. "Are you looking for me?" his voice takes me by surprise. I look up, wide eyed as he walks out of the bushes. "Tohru-Chan, I'm right here."

"W... What are you...? You shouldn't be out here! You're safer inside," I tell him.

"Am I? My parents have already invited you in, haven't they? How else did I wake up in my night clothes yesterday morning?" he asks. "How did that feel, getting to change my clothes, by the way?" He's fishing and we both know it.

I turn my head and look away. "You sound like you expected me to try something dirty. I did what I was told, to change you into your night clothes, so that your parents don't get suspicious finding you in the bed in the same clothes you had on during the day. There's nothing more to it than that. You're fifteen, Natsuno, and I'm kind of dead, there's all kinds of issues with that, you know."

Natsuno raises an irritated eyebrow. "Tell me something?" he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cross. "Does this thing really work?" I stagger backwards, an unexplainable sense of fear taking over my body. I dig my nails into the wall behind me, he's got me cornered. "Are you really afraid of something so simple as two pieces of wood in the shape of a giant 't', or were you afraid of such a symbol while you were alive, too? Can it be any charm? One of your comrades was afraid of a simple good luck charm Kaori had bought for Shimizu to wish her luck on her entrance exams. So I'm curious, just how effective is it?"

 _Just... Just curious?_ "Na-tsu-no..." I sob.

He frowns. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" he screams, throwing the cross at me, just barely missing my head. I duck as it whizzes past me, hitting the wall and breaking. I glance down at it, even though it's broke, it's still in the shape it was meant to be. _Damn it, Natsuno, I'M not the enemy, stop throwing your ammo around._ He turns and runs. I think he'd been deliberating whether or not it was really me, or just a creature that looks like me. None of them would call him by his name, and even so, they wouldn't say it with that much endearment in their voice. Even through my fear of the cross, it was evident.

"Natsuno!" I call out, as I catch up to him. I could pass him if I wanted. I could catch up and grab him if I wanted, but I don't know what else he has up his sleeve, and he's already scared enough.

"Why are you doing this!?" he asks, not bothering to stop. "Why are you with them? Why are you coming after me?"

"Natsuno, I'm sorry! It's not what you think," I swear, "I don't want to hurt you. But if I don't, they'll send someone else instead."

"I could have lived with that!" he replies, "They could have sent anyone but you."

"Tatsumi-Kun chose me on purpose!" I explain, "He said if I didn't, they'd go after Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu next!" He looks back over his shoulder, wide eyed.

"Why? Why can't you guys coexist with humans? Why not just stop attacking humans?" he asks.

"It's impossible!" _Oh God, I wish we could!_

"Why? If you came out and explained things clearly, there's bound to be someone willing to give fresh blood, without being killed or turned! Won't the amount of blood return to normal after a few days? Why just humans, what about animals?"

"It doesn't work that way! Animal blood, we can do it, but it doesn't give us what we need as well as human blood does." I wince and wrap an arm around my stomach as a pang of hunger hits me. _No! Not now, damn it! I haven't had the chance to explain anything!_ "You wouldn't understand." He looks back at me. "Just like humans killing animals is approved in society, we too approve of killing humans. At first, everyone is disgusted, afraid to bear the sin of killing people, afraid to receive punishment for replenishing themselves with the life of another. But once you realize there's no punishment, you get use to the guilt pretty soon." _Guilt! I'm full of it, even when I went for people who were so close to the end of their lives to begin with, I'm still leaving them to die. I've become USE to the guilt, but it's still eating me up inside. I don't think I'll ever stop feeling guilty, but... If there were a better way, I'd take it. Oh, how I wish there were a better way, but Tatsumi-Kun and Sunako will never allow it. It doesn't work with their agenda._ "Aren't humans the same? They butcher pigs and cows and eat their meat bit by bit. It's changed, but basically the same thing."

"NO IT'S NOT!" he exclaims, whirling around to look at me and sliding to a stop. "There's no way to take just a single piece of meat from a pig without letting it suffer if you don't kill it! But humans give blood at blood banks and blood drives everyday. They have to eat to replenish after that, but it's proof it can be done!" he insists. "THEY are the ones telling you all of this." He points in the direction of Kanemasa. He stops and looks at me, his eyes are lachrymose. _Natsuno's on the verge of tears!?_ "Do you really think that way?"

I stop, placing my hands on my knees. _No, I agree with him. I wish there was another way. I wish THEY would allow us to look for another way. But they won't, and I don't know if anyone's listening. Answer him the way they want, just in case, let them think their indoctrination works, then answer truthfully to anything else. If anyone asks, I can tell them I was just letting him hear what he wanted to lure him in._ "Yes," I answer out loud. I think he picked up on my hesitation, I know the look in my eyes give me away, if nothing more. I agree with him, but I'm too much of a coward to say so.

Natsuno gives a quick TSK in disgust and reaches behind his back. "It can't be helped then. Even an animal struggles before it's death." My eyes widen in fear, even more fear than what I felt at the sight of the cross, and I stagger backward. "If a cross works, then a wooden stake should, too!" He holds the stake, ready to drive it into my heart. His hands are trembling. "What are you waiting for? You want to kill me? Want to feast on my blood? You of all people should know I won't go down without a fight! You honestly believe there's no other way? Well, here I am, come at me!"

 _No, Natsuno, I don't want to do any of those things! I know better than to expect you to just stand back and go out without a fight._ I stagger further back, frightened as Hell. "N...Natsuno..." I whimper. I don't blame him. After what happened the other night, I'd react like this too. It doesn't make me any less fearful. I don't want to have to fight him, even to protect myself. _Killed the first time by an overly jealous teenaged girl who couldn't just take the hint... Now, will I die a second time at the hands of my best friend?_

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" he sobs, tossing the stake and mallet onto the ground at my his. "This is disgusting! Act more like a Vampire, not the guy I use to know, the guy you were when you were alive!"

"But I AM the guy you knew when I was alive," I assure him. "Natsuno, I swear, I'm not doing this because I want too!"

He tugs at his collar showing off my fang marks. "After what you did, you still dare to call me by my name?"

"I did what I did the other night to try and save you! Tatsumi-Kun would have killed you on the spot, and I know how you feel about Megumi-Chan."

"I would have fought either of them on their own," he says, sinking to his knees. He closes his eyes, shakes his head, and buries his face into his hands. "I wouldn't have hesitated if Shimizu came. She's put me through so much, and I'd never met Tatsumi before, I would have put all my strength into getting away from him." He peeks over my finger tips. "It's not fair they chose you. I can't fight you. I l..." He stops and looks up at me. _What was that...? Was he about to confess!?_

I mindlessly wrap my arms around my stomach, as another hunger pain hits me. "N-Natsuno..."

"You're really hungry, aren't you?" he asks, rolling up his sleeve. I frown and give a quiet nod, taking a step back. "You didn't eat last night, did you?" I shake my head.

"No," I admit. "I didn't come for you last night, and I refused to feed from anyone else." I'd rather him believe that, then let him know they were starving me on purpose. "Natsuno, I understand if you hate me, but please believe I never wanted to hurt you. I did what I did the other night, to make sure they wouldn't attack. As long as you bare my fang marks, they see you as my prey and will only attack with my permission, or if something happens to me. But, I haven't eaten since, and Tatsumi-Kun realized I only took enough blood to knock you out, so he bled me as punishment." THAT I will admit. "That's why I said you're safer inside."

He holds up his arm. "Fine Then let this be my olive branch. If you're hungry, then come to me. I'll give it to you willingly, but to you and you alone! You and I know how to work things out together, Tohru-Chan. We can do anything together, we both know that! Drink now, and we'll figure out a plan. There's got to be another way." I look at him in shock. "We can leave this village together and find a place where Tatsumi and the others can't find us. We may even find someone who can help us."

I stagger back, the hunger's trying to take over me. I can smell his blood from here. It even smells better than any of the others. _Natsuno, I wish I could. Oh, GOD, how I wish I could._ "No, it can't be done!" I whimper, turning away and covering my face. "No, Natsuno, don't ask this of me now... Stay back."

"Don't be like this. I'm trying to help you." He's practically pleading with me.

"It's impossible to run from Tatsumi-Kun," I whine, running my fingers through my hair.

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" He comes closer. "Tohru-Chan, are you really that afraid? Sure, we may have to fight a few people to get out of here, and we'll have to hide you from the sunlight, but, it's worth the effort if we can find a way to prove them wrong, isn't it?" Tohru-Chan, please? I don't want to leave you to them. I don't want to leave without you. Can't you see I'm trying to help?

I shake my head. "No!" I sob, "It can't be done, Tatsumi-Kun is sadistic! He'll hunt us down and kill us for sure."

"Tohru-Chan, would you look at me, please?" he begs. "I can't believe you're so scared you won't try." he puts a hand on my shoulder. "You've always been there for me. It's my turn to be there for you."

I can picture this scenario already...

 **I agree to leave with Natsuno, like he's asking. Tatsumi-Kun realizes I've run. If he doesn't go after my family or Ritsuko-Chan to lure me back, he comes for us. Natsuno gets a job and into a good school, but spends every day looking over his shoulder, to make sure his parents, or the cops, of Tatsumi-Kun himself don't find him and drag him back to Sotoba, spending every waking hour worrying if someone who knows what I am and how to kill me will find us when he's out. At nights, I could protect him. We could spend a few hours hanging out like we use to until he falls asleep, but I would have to fight off any other Okiagari that came for him, or hunters that come for me. But there's still the problem of my feeding. I could feed from him once or twice a week, or month, without hurting him, but would have to find other humans to feed from the rest of the time. I suppose I could feed off animals, but that would take twice as much blood. It all sounds good, until Tatsumi-Kun does find us.**

 **A horrible image fills my head. It's a gruesome sight. I'd go out to hunt on one of these nights where I can't feed from him. When I return, I'd find Natsuno's lifeless body splayed on the floor, in a manner that ensures he'll never rise up, Tatsumi-Kun towering over him.**

 **Even if they don't come looking for us, I would have to sit back and watch, helplessly, while my best friend grows old, weak, and frail, and dies, leaving me alone and unchanging.**

"Tohru-Chan?" Natsuno calls to me, gently tightening his grip on my shoulder.

I sniffle and shake my head, trying to rid myself of the awful image. "No, Natsuno, get back. I'm not afraid of what they'll do to me. I'm afraid of what'll happen to **you.** " My voice grows deep, and I release a slight growl as I begin to loose the battle against the hunger. I can smell his blood from here, and it's enticing me.

"T-Tohru-Chan...? But didn't you just say...?" he staggers back a, his face flushing red.

I turn to face him, letting out a growl. He staggers. Tears are streaming down my cheeks, my eyes glow red. My hunger's gone unsatiated too long. Natsuno takes a step back, only to slip on an uneven patch of grass. I pounce him. This isn't one of my usual cat like pounces. I have no control over my actions. Natsuno cries out as my fangs sink into his neck, slipping perfectly into place through the preexisting puncture wounds. He squirms, and screams in pain. "T-oh-ru-Ch-an!"

Tears fill his eyes as I drink from him. His blood is delicious. Trying to get away, Natsuno begins to squirm and thrash around, slamming his fists against me. He's hurting himself more than he is me. "Tohru-Chan...? St-o-p," he gasp, his voice full of pain.

My eyes stop glowing. I don't stop drinking right away, but stop biting so hard and being so rough as I realize what I've done. My tears splash onto Natsuno's shirt as his fingers dig into the fabric of my own. He looses his will to fight, and willingly submits.

"I'm sorry, Natsuno," I sob when I finally release him. "I'm so sorry."

Natsuno embraces me tighter. "It's ok, Tohru-Chan. It's ok, it's not your fault." I can hear the feeble attempt to hide the sobs in his voice. "THEY did this to you. It's ok... I lo..." He blinks, three times, then passes out.

"N...Natsuno...? Natsuno!" I give him a gentle shake. He doesn't wake up, but he breaths. Oh, thank God! He's still alive. I hug him close, burying my face into his shoulder, letting my tears soak his shirt. "I'm so sorry," I whisper. This isn't going how I planned. I'd wanted to convince him to run, but he tried to convince me to run with him instead. If I bite him tomorrow, he's as good as dead. I scramble to my feet, lifting him in my arms, and carry him back to his house. I tuck him back in bed and slip back outside for a moment. Finding Honey Bear still hidden among the bushes, I bring her back inside and tuck her next to him under the covers. I sit with him for as long as I can.

"Mnh... Toh-ru-Chan," he calls my name in his sleep. His voice is so frail and weak. I'm not sure if he's aware I'm still with him, or if he's simply dreaming. "I'm... sorry... Couldn't... save you." No, he's bound to be dreaming.

"It's ok, Natsuno, I don't blame you," I say, softly, gently running a hand through his hair. He takes a deep, labored breath, and falls quiet again. I feel horrible seeing him in this state, even worse knowing I did this to him. I wait with him, as long as I can. By 4am, however, I have to leave. I have to make it back, before the sun comes up. I stand, and brush a hand through his hair again. "I'm sorry, Natsuno, I have to go. I'll come back soon," I promise him. With that, I leave.

* * *

I don't go back to Natsuno the following night. I regret what I've done to him, and want to give him a chance to get better. I wonder if I'm doing the right thing by not hypnotizing him, or if by letting him remember, if I'm putting him at risk of dying from a broken heart? I'm almost certain he tried to confess not once, but twice last night. I manage to avoid Tatsumi-Kun, Megumi-Chan, and Shizuka-Chan, and slip out to find somewhere to feed. I don't want to see him tomorrow night if I'm as starved as I was last night. I take another elderly victim and feed.

I go back to Natsuno's the next night, hiding in the bushes just outside his room. His window's shut. His father enters the room and he convinces him to open it for him.

"How are you feeling?" I hear his father ask as he opens the window.

"Just fine," Natsuno lies.

"It might just be a mental issue," Yuuki-San sighs, walking over and placing a hand on Natsuno's forehead. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" _Good idea! I can't get to you there!_ "They might give you some medication or something."

"It'd be the same as drinking some of your White Horse Whiskey, right?" Natsuno says, giving a soft chuckle.

"Well, I see you're feeling well enough to make jokes! Don't get so full of yourself! I'll come in to check on you from time to time, ok?" Yuuki-San says as he leaves the room.

Natsuno looks back out the window. He already knew I was there. I slowly approach the window. "You'd better do it quick, or my father may come in and catch you. I would come to you if I could. But, every inch of my body feels weak and powerless. It feels as though I've lost all of my limbs. I can't even sit up on my own," he calls to me.

I quietly slip through the window and approach the bed. Natsuno's in even worse condition than I'd expected. He can barely sit up. I'd stayed away last night, hoping he'd get better. "Oh, Natsuno," I sob as I sit on the bedside, ruffling a hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me for doing this to you?"

"I can't... talk you into leaving with me... Can I?" he asks. He's clearly straining to talk.

I shake my head, the horrifying image of Tatsumi-Kun towering over Natsuno's lifeless body flashing in my mind once more. "No," I answer, "Oh, I wish it were possible, Natsuno, but it can't be done." I gently stroke his cheek. "The results would be the same."

"T-Toh-Tohru-Chan, h-help me sit up, please?" he requests. I nod and help him sit upright.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, "I never wanted to do this to you."

He quietly looks at me for a moment. "It's fine," he say, digging his fingers into my sleeves. "To-hru-Chan. W-what did you mean, when you said you were a-fraid of what would ha-happen to me, if you ran?" D-idn't you say they wouldn't touch me, as long as I h-ad your mark?" He raises a trembling hand to his neck, brushing his fingertips across my fang marks.

I nod. "Unless invited... Or something happens to me. That's why you were safer to stay in here and revoke the invitation that allowed me inside," I explain, "However, if they see me a traitor, should they send some one after me, then my mark won't protect you. You'd be fair game. I didn't want someone else to do this to you. I thought it'd be easier for you if it were someone you know." I closes my eyes and sob. "I had hoped I could prolong it, drink a little at a time, and convince them you were gone, maybe even convince you to give up fighting us and simply run. But, Tatsumi-Kun bled me out that first night. The next time I saw you, I was starved. I couldn't help myself." I look away from him. "God, Natsuno, I'm so sorry!"

Natsuno's trembling hand caresses my cheek and I blink. He's colder to the touch than normal, but still warm. "Tohru-Chan," he calls me name gently. "My offer still stands. Leave with me, Kaori, and Akira. I'll even talk to Aoi-Chan and Tamo-Chan if you like, the six of us can leave and fight any that come after us."

"No!" I refuse, "I don't want them to see me like this!" I shakes my head and wrap my arms around myself. "I don't like what I've become, Natsuno. If you rise up as one of us, you'll hate me for doing this to you. If I can protect Aoi-Chan and Tamotsu from the shadows, that's one thing, but I don't want them to know me like this."

Natsuno gives an exasperated sigh. "FINE!" He looks away from me. "I always had the feeling I'd never get out of this place."

"N-Natsuno...?" The tears start flowing down both our cheeks.

I blink as Natsuno throws his arms around me and nuzzles his face into my shoulder. "Tohru-Chan, you idiot!" he sobs. "I won't run without you." He tightens his grip. "I don't want anyone else to do this."

"Natsuno..." I hesitate, but return his embrace, stroking a hand through his hair. my tears begin to splash on his face and shoulders. I tremble and fail to stifle a moan as I take in Natsuno's scent. Like it or not, I've tasted his blood, and now my body wants more.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" he ask. "It's ok, Tohru-Chan. Do it, if you must. But... I have a favor to ask you. A dying request."

"What is it, Natsuno?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I've always known I was safe with you, but even with you, right now, I'm scared." He hugs me tighter. He's resigned to die at my hands. "Promise me...? Promise you'll stay with me until I take my last breath? That I won't die here alone."

I tighten my hold on him and nod. "I promise," I whisper.

Natsuno closes his eyes and tilts his head. "Just one more thing...? Don't let me fall unconscious before you pull away?" I find this request curious. I would think he'd want me to make it quick and painless. I certainly don't want to make him suffer any more. Still, I'm sure he has his reasons, so I nod. Doing so wouldn't be any different from how I leave my usual victims. I lean in and bite down. I'm just as gentle as I was the first night I bit him and Natsuno gives a tiny gasp in response. My fangs slip back in through the preexisting puncture wounds and I begin to suck his blood. Natsuno keeps his eyes trained on me the entire time.

I feel him growing weaker as his hold on me loosens. Tears begin streaming down his face. "T-Tohru-Chan," he calls my name. We both know I've drank enough there's no way I'll survive the night.

"N-Natsu-no..." I sob as release his neck.

A pair of trembling hands caress my cheeks. Pulling him close, he forces our lips together in a kiss. I freeze in shock, but don't fight him as his tongue enters my mouth. There's still traces of his blood in my mouth, but he doesn't seem to care. He only breaks the kiss when the need to breath forces him to do so.

"N-Natsuno, why did you...?" I ask, placing a hand to my lips.

"Idiot," he sighs. "I've done everything to try and save you." He presses his head against his chest, too weak to hold himself upright any more. "I'm sorry, I know it's unfair to you to do this now," he sobs. "But... I can already feel myself dying." His breathing's becoming labored, his heart beat slower. I can hear his heart and lungs straining to keep working. I can only imagine the pain he's feeling. He closes his eyes, tears roll down both our cheeks. "I'm sorry, Tohru-Chan. Forgive me. I love you." My eyes widen as. With those words leaving his lips, he breaths his last.

"N-Natsu... NO!" I sob, hugging him tight. "Natsuno, no, please, not like this," I sob. His last words to me are a confession of love. Knowing I was doing this to him was painful enough, knowing he let me do it because of this only makes it worse. No, I can't say those words back, not in the same way he means them. "Oh, what have I done?" I hug him tight in my arms, my tears falling onto his lifeless body like dew drops. I can feel his warmth slowly leaving him. His body jerks and shakes in my arms a few times from death rattles, then falls motionless. I curse myself for what I've done, and those who played a hand in it. "I'm such a coward," I lament, "Oh, Natsuno, I'm so sorry."

This is something I'll never be able to forgive myself for. I stay, holding him in my arms, all through the night. I know that if he were to become one of us, it wouldn't happen right away. I stay until I have no choice but to leave. Laying him back on the bed, and tucking him back in, I smooth his hair out of his face and gently press my forehead against his. Before I pull away, I know I'll hate myself for these words later, and if they come true, he'll hate me for them too. "I'm sorry, Natsuno... Please, come back to me."


End file.
